Lucky Man
by lilmamaday
Summary: This is one thing that could have happened if Olivia took Andy up on his offer for a drink
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:  I do not own Law & Order SVU or any of the characters 

Spoilers:  Escape

Olivia watched as Marshall Andy Eckerson walked out of the squadroom.  She had really meant what she said when she that she needed more stability in her life and that it wasn't a good idea for them to go out for a drink.  She reflected back on her prior relationship with him and all the ups and downs.  She looked over at Elliot's empty desk and suddenly felt very alone.

At that moment, even as she knew it was a mistake, she stood up, grabbed her coat and hurried out of the squadroom.  "Andy! Wait!"  She caught him right as he was getting into a cab.  He turned and looked into her eyes, saw the loneliness and the need for company.  He just held out his hand to her and helped her into the cab.

"So where do you want to go Olivia?  Do you want that drink now?  Or did you want something else?"  Olivia looked up at him " A drink, just a drink."  At his raised eyebrow and to wipe that all knowing look off his face she continued "That's all I want right now, ok?  Just a drink, and someone to talk to.  If you can't handle that, then just drop me at home."

The cabdriver just sat there wondering if he should have started the meter the moment these two had gotten into the cab, they sure were taking their time telling him where they wanted to go.  "Escuse me guys, but where ya headed?"  He met the woman's eyes in the mirror and saw her momentary indecision but then she responded " Take us to O'Malleys."  The cabbie just smiled at her, "No problem, traffic is actually a little heavy but I should have you there in a few minutes."  The car pulled out into the traffic and they were on their way.  

They didn't speak again until they were seated in the bar.  Olivia scanned the room to see if anyone she knew was there, this was where she, Finn, John and Elliot often came after a hard day to unwind.  She wasn't sure whether she was disappointed or relieved that she didn't spot anyone.  The thought ran thru her mind that she was making a big mistake.  Andy was nothing but trouble. Then again, she just couldn't bear going home to that empty apartment.  Not after today.  The adrenaline was starting to where off, and it was starting to sink in that she was held hostage today at gunpoint and that if things had gone differently it could have been her instead of Baxter lying in that hospital room.  

Andy broke into her thoughts.  "So, have you let Baxter know that he is a free man yet?"

"No, the doctors said that he hasn't regained conciousness yet and probably won't be up for visitors until morning.  I will be going to break the news to him tomorrow morning."  She looked up at him with accusing eyes, "If he makes it til morning that is."

"Olivia! That is not fair!  He had a gun on you!" Andy defended his actions in telling the sharpshooter to take the shot.   "He was getting too emotional and he was waving that gun around in your face!  We had the shot, and I believe that you were in danger so I told them to take it." He paused and took a deep breath.  " I just wish that I had known that he was innocent, maybe I would have given him a little more credit, but then again, he was an escaped criminal……"  His voice trailed off as he rubbed his hand across his forehead.  

"I know that you were just doing your job.  But Andy, didn't you give me any credit for being able to disarm him?  He was handing me his gun."  Olivia shut her eyes as the memory of the moment flashed thru her mind.  Baxter had lowered the gun and she had her hands on it when the shot went thru his chest.  Olivia jumped at the memory.  "He was handing the gun."

Andy looked into her pleading eyes and was about to answer when they were interrupted by the waitress.  "What can I get you?"  Andy had a surprised look on his face when Olivia ordered a whiskey straight up.  The waitress took their orders and headed out to fill them.

He took a deep breath before these words came from his mouth.  "Olivia, lets not rehash what happened.  We can't change any of it, so lets not get into the blame game."  Andy pleaded. "Please?"

  Olivia looked up at him in surprise.  "Did you just say please?"  A small laugh escaped her.  "Did I just hear you correctly?"

"Yes.  I told you that I am not _always_ a bad guy." He sent her that devil may care grin that used to tie her stomach up in knots. "If you remember correctly, sometimes I could be _quite_ good."  Olivia just shook her head at the suggestive tone in his words and thought to herself that somethings never change.  Andy, was, and still is, a flirt and was starting to turn it on for her.  

"Now Andy…." She started but was interrupted by the delivery of their drinks.  As the waitress set a beer down in front of Andy, Olivia had already thrown back her whiskey.  Andy was surprised when she ordered another.  

"Have you eaten anything today?"  When she shook her head no, he also ordered some wings.  "You shouldn't be drinking without something on your stomach.  And I don't plan on taking you home sick, ok?"  

Olivia shrugged and relaxed for a moment feeling the warmth of the alcohol start to spread thru her body.  She hadn't realized that she felt so cold until now.  She looked back up at Andy to see an odd look in his eye as he stared at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"  

He took a minute to answer "I am just trying to figure out how I could have been so stupid to have let you slip away from me?"  A wry smile spread across his face, "And to think I always thought that I was a smart man."

"If I remember correctly, you didn't have much say in the matter.  I just got tired of always worrying about whether you would come home alive or not.  You just took too many chances and risked it all too many times."  As she looked at him, a smile crept out. "And of course, your ego didn't help you too much either. Mister, I can never be wrong."  She let out a little laugh, as her second whiskey was set in front of her.  It was gone before it had left the waitress's hand.

"I'll take another."  The waitress nodded and headed off.  

"You really ought to slow down Olivia."

"Why?  If I keep up at this pace maybe you will get lucky."  At his surprised expression, she laughed. " I am just kidding you know.  You aren't that lucky."

He was just happy that she was relaxing and joking around with him.  He smiled and took a long drink of his beer trying to erase the images of Olivia in his bed.  The way her face would glow as they ….'Whoa!  Where did all that come from!?' he tried to shake those thoughts out of his head.  She had already told him that nothing would come from tonight but he really did miss her.  That is one of the reasons that he had jumped to work on this case.  To see Olivia.  God he must have been a fool to have ever let her go.

"Earth to Andy.  Come in Andy."  Olivia broke thru his reverie.  He looked up and caught her eye.  

"Sorry, I was just thinking."  As Olivia opened her mouth to ask what about, her cel phone rang.  

"Benson."

Andy observed the sudden smile that appeared on her face and the way her eyes lit up and suddenly felt jealous.  Who could bring that sort of reaction.

"Oh hi!  Yeah, I am okay."  She looked up at Andy and then looked away and wouldn't meet his eyes.  "I don't really want to talk about it right now."  Andy listened to her one sided conversation and finally it hit him who she was talking too when he heard, "I know you would have been there with me if you hadn't had to be in court.  Elliot….."  It was her partner.  Andy stopped listening to her conversation while he digested this information.  He had noticed the not so nice welcome he received from Detective Stabler when he had originally been introduced and wondered if something else was going on here.  Could he have been jealous?  Hmmm.  He looked up as the waitress placed the wings and Olivia's 3rd whiskey on the table.  He thanked the waitress and motioned to Olivia to end her call.  He raised an eyebrow and an inquisitive look when he heard "No. Elliot, spend some time with your family.  They haven't gotten to see you a lot lately and I am ok.  I really don't think that Kathy would appreciate it if you had to run out and take care of me."  He was dying to know what was being said on the other line. "I am just getting ready to head home, I just stopped by O'Malleys for a quick drink."  Andy was about to open his mouth and say something when she cut him a look that she saved for perps that all but screamed 'be quiet'.  "I promise that I am fine.  And I won't do anything stupid."  She paused.  "Of course not!  Why do you think I would call him? Look, its late, you're with your family, I am fine and I will see you tomorrow.  Goodbye Elliot, and thank you for calling."  She disconnected the call.

"So what is going on between you and Detective Stabler?"  Andy bluntly asked. 

"Nothing. He is my partner and my friend.  Why would you think anything is going on?"  She hurriedly replied. "Plus he is married and has a family.  You are too suspicious Andy."  She quickly downed her whiskey and grabbed a wing.  He could see that the alcohol was starting to take its effect on her.  

He could tell that she was lying.  "If you say so Olivia."

"I do say so!  He is my bestfriend and my partner.  Nothing more, nothing less."  She countered as she tried to get the attention of the waitress.  At that moment Andy realized that Olivia wasn't just lying to him, she was lying to herself. He sat there in shock for a moment at this revelation and just looked at Olivia.  Have I really lost her?  

"Olivia, honey.  Don't you think you should slow down a bit on the whiskey?"  Her movements were getting more exaggerated showing that she was starting to get tipsy.

"I am trying to eat some of these wings and I am not having anymore after this next one, okay?"  She asked him patronizingly.  "Mom." And then she laughed.  Andy was really glad that he had only nursed one beer, Olivia was on her way to forgetting it all.  She never really could handle her liquor.    He decided to play along with her and let her relax and have a good time, for now anyway.

"At least get the sex right!"  He cried out indignantly!  "Dad!"

Olivia looked up at him coyly and shocked him to the core when voiced what he had been thinking earlier "We always did get the sex right didn't we?  That was the one part of our relationship that was always right."  Before he could say anything, the waitress dropped off Olivia's whiskey. "Could you please bring us the bill?" Olivia requested as she finished off the whiskey.   As the waitress took out the bill, Olivia thru down some money and looked up at Andy and asked, "Ready to take me home?"  He nodded, still at a loss for words.  

Olivia leaned on Andy for support on their way out.  "Maybe I did have a little too much to drink, then again, maybe I didn't have enough."  

Andy looked down at the vision on his arm and asked "Why do you say that?"

"I still feel so empty and alone.  But I am not alone am I?"  She smiled up at him. "You are here."  

"I guess I am, aren't I?  Are we walking or taking a cab?"  Olivia looked up into the sky and sighed.  "It's a beautiful night.  Lets walk and enjoy the evening.  Its only a couple blocks up and then you can catch a cab from there."  She then let a laugh bubble out.  "And I probably need the fresh air, I am starting to feel really good!"  She leaned harder on Andy.  "Thank you for being here."

"Hey, no problem beautiful.  No problem at all."  As they walked arms linked together, Andy started to let his thoughts wander.  What would happen when they got back to her place?  He decides that he will be the gentleman, walk her to her door and leave.  But what if she asks me to come in?  What then?  

Olivia's mind was wandering as well, but unfortunately for Andy it was on a different track.  She was thinking about Elliot and how nice it was for him to call and check up on her and how much she wished that he was the one with her right now.  She shook her head and just relaxed thinking that soon she would be home.

They walked to her apartment building in silence.

He opened the door to the lobby for her and when he saw the sign on the elevator he sighed and then offered to walk her up to her 3rd floor apartment.  Olivia agreed. "I don't think that I would be able to make it up all the stairs by myself." 

Andy was starting to rethink his whole being a gentleman stance so that if she offered to have him come in that he would definitely take her up on it.  She was the one that he should never have let get away.  

As they came up to her apartment a figure came out of the shadows.  Olivia and Andy both started to go for their guns when the figure came into the light.  Olivia relaxed and smiled and started forward but Andy wasn't so sure that he should have his gun ready.  The look Elliot was giving him made him feel very uneasy.  He figured that he had better get out of there before something happened.  "Goodnight Olivia.  Since you are now in good hands I will head out now." Since Olivia was in the process of hugging Elliot, he didn't try to hug her, he just wanted to get out of there.  "Goodbye Andy."  As Andy looked at her at tucked next to Elliot's side he realized that he has really lost her. 

He wondered if Elliot even realized how lucky he was.  Olivia loved him.  

God he wished that he was Elliot right now.

A/N:  This is my first fanfic!  Please R & R!  


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2   Lucky Man

Disclaimer:  I do not own Law & Order SUV or any of the characters

A/N: Thanks for all the reviewers!  I am always open to advice!

Elliot watched Andy make a hasty retreat out the door and once he was sure that he wasn't coming back, the scowl fell from his face and he relaxed the hold he had on Olivia.  He looked down at Olivia and realized that it was a really good thing that he decided to stop in and check on her.  She looked like she was feeling no pain and he just knew that Andy would have tried to take advantage of her.  

"Elliot!  Why are you here?"  She asked as she struggled to get her key in the lock.  Elliot took the keys from her and unlocked the door.  He held the door open for her and watched her flounce in the house dropping her jacket on the floor as she flopped onto the couch.  

"Well I am here to see how my partner is doing.  You really didn't sound so good on the phone and I was worried about you."  Elliot finally replied after shutting the door and making sure it was locked.  He walked into the kitchen and started going thru her cabinets.  "Where do you keep the glasses?"

"Hmmm…. I think that I now have them in the cabinet next to the stove"

"Nope.  No glasses there. Oh, wait, here they are." She heard him turn on the water. "Why do you constantly rearrange your kitchen?  That would drive me crazy!"  He walked back into the living room and handed her a glass of water.  "Drink this while I fix you some coffee."

"Elliot, you don't need to fix me any coffee.  You are a guest in my home."  She paused to take a drink to appease him.  "And to answer your question, sometimes I just get tired of everything always being the same and I need to change things up.  That is why I rearrange all my rooms every few weeks."  She looked like she was going to say something else so Elliot just stood there for a moment waiting.  

"And?"  He prompted.  She just sat there drinking the water and staring at him like she had never really seen him before.  "Why are you looking at me like that?"  

Olivia thought back to when she asked Andy the same question and remembered his answer and smiled.  "No reason Elliot.  I am just really glad that you are here, I didn't really want to be alone."  She lied.  She was really thinking along the same lines as Andy, was Elliot her 'one that got away'?  Of course not she rationalized, he was never mine to begin with.

Elliot sat on the chair across from her and leaned in towards her.  "Is that why you called _him_?  I thought you said that you weren't going to do anything stupid."  Olivia laughed bringing a scowl to his face.  "Why are you laughing?  I am serious."

"I know that's why I am laughing.  You have gone into Daddy mode.  Should I start having my prospective dates call you and ask for permission first?"  For some reason the thought of this had Olivia laughing so hard that the water in her glass was sloshing over the sides.  "I am a big girl El.  I can take care of myself.  Now I am going to go and make you some coffee."  Elliot sat back as she started to get up to get the coffee and was really glad that he did, she lost her balance and fell right into his lap.  Luckily he caught her before she fell to the floor.  Olivia lost it and was in almost hysterics, she was laughing so hard.  

"How many drinks have you had Liv?"  Elliot asked as he tried to keep her from falling.  

"I don…I don't know.  Three or four I guess."  Olivia said thru her giggles.  

"Three or four what?"

"Whiskeys……Dad."  With that Olivia fell back into laughter.  Elliot was just shaking his head and debating whether or not to let her go and fall to the floor when she looked up into his face.  As their eyes met, her laughter suddenly stopped and she just stared into the depths of his eyes.  All her longing was shining for him to see and it terrified him to see it.  At that moment there was a knock at the door.  They were both jolted and jumped apart like they had been caught doing something wrong.  

Elliot walked over to the door and looked thru the peephole.  It was no one that he knew.  "Who is it?"  He asked.  

"Pizza delivery."

"Sorry, wrong apartment, we didn't order pizza."  He replied.  The delivery guy apologized and went looking for the right apartment.

Elliot turned around and noticed Olivia wasn't there.  He heard noises coming from the kitchen and went to see what she was doing.  "I see you could get up by yourself and stay up this time."

"Ha ha.  Real funny, El.  I am not that drunk.  I am perfectly able to fix some coffee."  She was putting the finishing touches to the coffee machine. "Well, that will take a few minutes.  I am going to go and change."  She walked towards her bedroom and sent him a look over her shoulder. "You can always come and help me change if you want." She offered with a smile.

Elliot stood there stunned.  Olivia started laughing again.  "I was just kidding Elliot.  What?  Did I scare you?"

"Uh…. No.  Why…why would you say that?"  He managed to choke out as she started to untuck her shirt from her pants. 

"Because of the look on your face!  It was priceless!"  She teased as she went into her room.  She left the door partially open as she started changing.  

Elliot could hear her moving around in there.  "You never did answer my question.  Why did you call him?"  He inquired as he looked down the hallway.

"I didn't.  He was there in the squad room and he asked me for drinks, and I really didn't want to be alone, so I took him up on it.  It was no big deal."  The last part of what she said was muffled and for a moment Elliot was picturing her pulling her shirt over her head.  "Elliot!  Hello!  Are you even listening to me?"  

He looked down and realized that she was standing right in front of him.  "I'm sorry.  I was lost in my thoughts for a moment."

"Oh, is everything ok?"  She looked at him with concern.  "Was there a problem with court today?"  She paused and before he could answer, her eyes grew round and she drew in a breath. "Is everything ok at home?"

Elliot put his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. "Everything went fine in court today and things at home are the usual.  So just calm down."  The coffee maker beeped.  "Ah, coffees on."   He went to fill the mugs he had found.

"El, why are you here?" Olivia asked again once they were settled side by side on the couch.  She was leaning up against him and had her legs tucked up under her.  He looked down to tell her and realized that the tank top to her pajama set was too loose.  He had to tear his eyes away from her cleavage to meet her eyes.  Luckily enough for Elliot, she didn't notice.

"I had to see how you really were doing.  My God, you were taken hostage today and a man was shot right in front of you.  I had to know that you were really okay."  He explained.  "I was also worried that Andy would try something and I didn't want to see you hurt." 

She was really quiet for a few moments and then she was speaking so quietly that he had to strain to hear her. "I think that sometimes you know me so well that it's scary.  I did need you tonight.  And since I couldn't have you here and I didn't want to be alone, I accepted Andy's offer for a drink."  Elliot was still trying to process all that he heard as she continued. "I would have done something stupid that I really would have regretted in the morning.  Thank you for showing up and saving me from that."

"Honey, you don't need to thank me for anything!  I am always here for you and you know that!" He turned and put his arms around her and laid his chin on the top of her head.  He took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of her hair as he shut his eyes and just held on to her.

"I know Elliot."  She sighed. "But I also know that if I had called you and said that I just needed to talk that Kathy would probably go ape shit on you because I would be taking time away from them.  Especially since this is not an emergency."  She paused for a moment and then tried to pull away to look up at his face, but Elliot wouldn't let up on his embrace.  "How did you get out of the house?"

He took a deep breath. "I had gotten off the phone with you and Kathy came in and she took one look at my face and she just knew that I was heading out.  I think that she believed that it was about a case.  I never told her exactly why I was leaving, and to be honest she didn't ask."  As he said this he saw the events enfolding in his mind.

            _He closed the phone and stood there with an unhappy look on his face.  _

_            Kathy came around the corner and stood there looking at him, it was the_

_            same look that he gets when a new case comes in.  "So you are leaving."_

_            It was more a statement than a question.  As Elliot looked up at her, he _

_            realized that she was right and that he had to go to Olivia.  Something was_

_            not right with her voice when he talked to her on the phone.  She needed him_

_            and he knew that he had to go to her.  She can take these cases so personally_

_            and it tends to eat her up inside.  _

_            "Yeah, I got to go."  Kathy sighed and she gave him that look and he knew_

_            that they would probably end up fighting about this if she found out why he _

_            was leaving.  Olivia was a sore spot with Kathy lately.  Then again, everything_

_            with Kathy has been a sore spot lately.  They never really talked anymore,             _

_            unless it was about the kids or fighting about the time they never spend _

_            together anymore.  He grabbed his coat, gave Kathy a peck on the cheek_

_            and headed out.  He had gotten to Olivia's about 10 minutes before she did._

"Elliot!"  This time Olivia did pull away and she looked up at him.  "Why would you let her think that?!  Do you want to give her more to be angry with you about?"  Olivia was getting that angry look in her eyes and Elliot was hoping that she wouldn't direct it all at him.  

"Look Liv, I didn't lie to her and to be honest, she stopped asking where I have been a long time ago.  She knows that I won't talk about cases and so she just doesn't ask.  So why would we fight about it?  Its not like she will find out."  Elliot looked down at Olivia and said earnestly.  "Even if she does find out, it's worth it.  You needed me and here I am."  He smiled. "We are partners right?"

"Of course we are partners and I love that I can always count on you but she needs to be able to count on you too.  She is your wife.  You took vows and…."  She paused and tears welled up in her eyes.  "Well, I don't want to be the reason you aren't there for her."

Elliot could definitely tell that she had drunk too much due to her radical mood swings.  He could handle the anger much better than the tears.  He grabbed her chin and turned her face towards him. "Olivia.  Olivia, look at me."  He waited until she opened her eyes, then he continued. "Kathy and I are having problems in our marriage, we have had problems for quite a few years.  Even before you and I were paired as partners, and I don't want you to ever think that you are the cause of those problems.  Do you understand me?"  

He looked earnestly into her beautiful brown eyes and she saw all the pain and loneliness that he usually kept hidden from her.  "Yes, Elliot, I believe you.  I have too."  The longer she stared into his eyes the more she wanted to erase the pain that she saw there.  Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the timing or the just because of what she went thru today with Baxter.  Whatever it was, she went with it.   She turned, leaned forward, grabbed his face between her hands and brought her lips to his.  She touched them lightly with her own and pulled back just enough, so that their lips weren't touching but they were sharing the same breath.  Elliot brought his hand up and cupped her face and together this time, they kissed.  It was a magical moment for both of them.  As they separated they just stared at each other.  At this moment Olivia realized that the pain was gone from his eyes.  She smiled at him.  Elliot sat there stunned.  She turned and leaned her back against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her again and rested his chin on her head, in the same position that they had been in before but this time it just felt different.  It was more intimate.  They didn't say anything else, there was no need too.  After a few minutes, Elliot realized that Olivia was asleep.  He knew that he should get up and move her and head home, but he couldn't seem to do that.  

He sat there all night, just holding her and wondering what the hell happened here tonight.  And what tomorrow was going to bring.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  

Disclaimer:  I don't own them, wish I did but Law & Order SVU don't belong to me.

A/N:  This is kind of a filler chapter.  The next chapter will be better!  Please R & R!

Olivia slowly started to wake up.  The first thing that she was aware of was that her head was pounding.  She tried to fall back to sleep, to escape her headache but soon realized that the effort was fruitless.  Her mouth was all dry and fuzzy and she was trying to remember how she got home last night.  That is when she realized that she wasn't in her bed, she was on her couch and someone was holding her.  'No!!!!!' Her mind cried out.  Please tell me that I didn't let Andy in my house!  This was definitely not the way to show him that she wasn't interested in him any longer.  She was working up the courage to pull away from him when a cell phone ring broke thru the silence. The man behind her loosened one arm and reached over and flipped open his phone, all before Olivia could even process what the sound was.

"Stabler."  Olivia stiffened in surprise.  As she did so her mind was racing. 'When did Elliot show up last night?  How much did she have to drink?'  She went to pull herself up and look at Elliot but he prevented her from getting up by tightening the one arm he still had around her.  She realized that he wasn't going to let her up so she just relaxed back in his arms and was going to wait for the end of his conversation.  

"Yeah, sorry.  I meant to call you back last night but it was so late and I didn't want to wake you."  She understood immediately that he was speaking to Kathy by the defensive tone he had in his voice.  He always seemed to sound like that now when he spoke to her.  "I ended up catching a few z's in the crib last night and since I never took my dry-cleaning out of the car, I'll just change here and see you when my shift is over for the day. Okay? ….  Kathy! …. Yes…. Yes…. I will definitely be home for dinner. … I promise okay? …Tell the kids to have a good day for me and that I love them. … Talk to you later. Bye."  Elliot flipped his phone closed and sighed wearily.  He placed the phone on the table and ran his hand over his face.  After a moment he replaced his arm around her. 

"Good morning, sunshine.  How are ya feeling?" 

Olivia groaned. "Are you trying to be funny?"  She winced as she heard her voice creak out. "I feel like I have been hit by a truck!"  She finally extracted herself from Elliot, and sat up to face him.  "How long have you been here?"  

Elliot pushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes and looked down at her for a moment before answering. "I was here waiting for you when _Andy_ (he spit out his name like it was a dirty word) was walking you home.  Actually it was more like he was carrying you home."  He stopped and intently stared at her for a moment, the stare was so intense and the look one that she wasn't sure she had ever had directed at her by him before.  It reminded her of the stare he used on perps when he was trying to figure out whether or not they were telling the truth.  "You had quite a lot to drink by the looks of things last night.  You don't remember me being here when you got home?"

She thought back to what she remembered of last night.  "I remember going to O'Malley's with Andy.  I remember your phone call.  And I remember leaving the bar with Andy and everything is kind of jumbled after that.  Did I do something that I shouldn't have?"

"Other than going out for drinks with _him_?"  

"El, he is really not that bad of a guy."  She thought for a moment and then added.  "But I did make it clear to him when I accepted the offer to go out that I wasn't looking to start things back up with him.  I told him that I was looking for more than what he could give me."  She stood up, stretched and let out another loud groan.  "Uh! My head hurts!"

Elliot looked at her with a bemused look.  "It serves you right." She shot him a dirty look and went into the bathroom to get her Excedrin. He stood up and headed for the kitchen.  She heard the water turn on and knew he was fixing her a glass of water.  She stumbled out and quickly took 2 pills.  

"What time is it anyway?" She inquired as she finished up the remaining water in the glass.  He looked down at his watch.  "Its 6:30 am.  We still have an hour and ½ until we have to report in."  That's when she realized that he had been there all night and recalled the phone conversation he had just had.  

"Oh no!  Elliot!  Why did you stay here all night?  Kathy must be so pissed!"  She gave him a pained look. "You could have left once I passed out.  Why did you stay?"

"Come here you."  He gave her a reassuring hug and placed a kiss on her forehead.  "I didn't tell Kathy where I was going and to be honest, she didn't ask.  She really isn't angry and you don't need to worry about it, okay?"  She looked up and nodded her head.  Elliot gave a small laugh.  "What?" she inquired.

"You don't remember, but we had this same conversation last night.  I am having a case of de ja vu."  

She looked up at him, "Really?"  At his nod, she shook her head. "I hate not remembering.  Tell me I didn't do anything stupid."  She requested hopefully.  

He paused before answering, the memory of the kiss running thru his head.  That first light kiss that Olivia pressed to his lips that was over before he realized she was kissing him.  And then _the _kiss, he remembered bringing his hand up to cup her face, their foreheads were touching and their lips were so close and he just had to have more.  He pulled her to him and their lips met together in a kiss that was so perfect.  He wanted the kiss to go on forever but Olivia had pulled back, smiled at him and then settled down into his arms, and before he could process everything that had just happened and talk to her about it, she was out cold.  And now she couldn't remember any of it, just his luck. "Nah, you didn't do anything stupid."

"El, are you sure?  You took an awful long time answering me." 

"I'm sure.  Now why don't you go hop in the shower and I will go out to my car and get my stuff. Okay?"  She agreed.  As she headed back to her bedroom to grab her clothes she heard him head out the front door.

When she came out fresh from the shower, dressed in clean clothes, she felt one hundred times better.  "Ahhh." She sighed as the scent of coffee wafted down the hallway to her.  "Kathy sure has trained you well." She teased as she grabbed her mug and took a swig.  "Just what the doctor ordered."  Olivia leaned against the counter and took a long look at Elliot.  "Hey El, are you okay?"  She inquired as she took in the tired look in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine.  Yesterday was just a hard day in court and then I was up babysitting you."  He emphasized that statement with the 'dad' look.  "Just think if I hadn't, you could have woken up here this morning with Andy."

"Oh God.  Please don't remind me!"  She whined.  "Why don't you go and hop in the shower, it'll do you a world of good."  She walked to the linen closet and took out a set of towels and all but pushed him to the bathroom.

"Okay! Okay. I am going."  He headed into the bathroom and Olivia heard the water start.  As she was heading back to the kitchen she heard Elliot call out. "Hey, Liv?"

"What do you need El?"  She decided to play with him a little. "Did you drop the soap?  Or better yet, did you need someone to come in and wash your back?"  She ended that question with a nervous laugh, trying to ignore the erotic picture that just popped into her mind.

"Huh?  Sorry I couldn't hear you."  Olivia breathed a sigh of relief at his statement.  She walked over to the door and yelled. "What do you need?"

"Do you have any other soaps? I really don't want to walk into the office smelling like wildflowers."  He complained.

"Awww…. Come on Elliot.  Don't you want to feel pretty?"  She teased and started laughing at his terse, "No." She thought for a moment, "Check under the sink.  I think that I have some shampoo and soaps that may work for you.  They would be hotel-sized. I snagged them on my last vacation.  I hope that they will be _manly_ enough for you."

"Ha ha, real funny there Liv."  He rummaged thru the cabinet and finally found them.

When Elliot came out from his shower he saw that Olivia was popping some bagels into the toaster.  "Are you hungry?  I don't have much, but then again I wasn't planning on company."  She grabbed some plates and handed him one. "Check in the fridge for a topping for your bagel.  I eat mine plain."

While he was foraging in the fridge for some cream cheese he commented on how happy she looks now.  

"Well, I called the hospital and Baxter is doing fine.  It looks like he is going to make a full recovery." She told him with a smile. "I also talked to Karen this morning and she is going to meet me with Danny at the hospital to tell Baxter that he has been cleared in Lee's rape."

Elliot looked a little confused.  "Who are all these people?"  So over breakfast she explained the whole situation out to Elliot.  Every now and again he would interrupt her with a question. "So you didn't find out he was innocent until after the hostage negotiation?"   She nodded and continued the story.  "Great job, Olivia!"  She grinned up at him and suddenly had a flash of something, but before she could figure out what it was, it was gone. She tried to make herself latch on and get the memory back but it was fruitless.

"What's wrong?" Elliot inquired as the smile fell from her face.

"I don't know.  I just remembered something but then it was gone." She paused. "Oh well, if it's important, I'll remember it later."  She turned to get her shoes and missed the look that passed over Elliot's face.

Elliot just watched her for a moment wondering if she would remember the kiss and what that would mean for them.  "Come on Elliot, you don't want to be late.  Can I hitch a ride to work with you?"

"Sure thing Liv.  Lets go."  They headed to the office.  

As they walked into the squad room Munch and Finn were already sitting at their desks.  Munch looked up and raised an eyebrow when he saw the two of them walk in together but he had too much on his mind to comment on it.  

Capt Cragen took that moment to walk out of his office. "Benson, Stabler.  I need you to see the two of you in my office."  He turned and headed back into his office expecting them to follow.  They looked at each other wondering if they had done something wrong, and neither could think of what it was.  They followed him in.

"What's up Capt?" Elliot asked as the Capt sat on the edge of his desk and looked at his two favorite detectives.  "You two have too much overtime on the books right now and with this coming up on the end of the year, the guys upstairs want me to cut back your hours."  They both looked up in surprise at this. "And since you have both finished up your major cases and no new ones have come in yet, I am giving you guys the rest of the week off."  They just sat there speechless.  "Since you aren't disagreeing with me, I will see you both on Monday, enjoy your 4 day weekend."  With that he got up from the edge of his desk and walked around and sat behind it and started going thru his papers as if they weren't there.  They took the hit and headed out.  "Thanks Capt!"  They replied in unison.  Cragen looked up and smiled as they went out the door and thought to himself that they also deserved the time off.

"Wow!"  Olivia exclaimed as they got to their desks.  "I guess that after the hospital, I will go and get some of my Christmas shopping done.  What are you planning to do El?"

"Not sure. I will probably go home and just spend sometime with Kathy and the kids."  Elliot replied as he straightened up his desk.  

Munch looked up at this. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Capt is giving us the rest of the week off."  Olivia answered cheerfully. 

He looked disgruntled. "How did you manage that?"  Finn was on the phone but he had a skeptical look on his face while he observed their conversation.

"Apparently he just likes us more." Elliot teased.

Munch shook his head scornfully. "It's a conspiracy I tell you.  If I had a woman partner then I would probably get more breaks too."  He sighed dramatically. "Unfortunately I have Finn."  Finn threw a pencil that Munch barely dodged.  Everyone laughed.

"Later guys!"  Olivia called over her shoulder as she headed out.  "I am heading out to give good news."  They all called out their goodbyes.

Elliot looked at the phone and thought of calling Kathy to let her know he was coming home but decided to surprise her instead to make up for last night.  Plus he felt that he had to do something nice for her, he felt guilty about what went on with Olivia the night before.  Elliot called out his goodbyes as he went out the door and headed home.  

He let his mind wander on his drive home.  He tried not to think about last night but about his wife and their family.  He did love Kathy but sometimes he wondered if she even liked him anymore.  All they seemed to do these days is fight and he hates what it is doing to the kids, and to them.  He could remember when they couldn't keep their hands off each other and how she used to actually be interested in his day.  Now he could tell that she really didn't listen when he would talk about his daily activities and he really couldn't remember the last time they were intimate.  He couldn't believe that it had been months. 'Now how could that have happened?' he thought.  Maybe this time off will be good for them.  As he pulled into the drive he noticed a blue pick up parked on the curb.  He didn't think too much about it at the time, he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts.

He should have paid more attention, as he soon found out.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Disclaimer:  I do not own Law & Order SVU in any shape or form.  I just really like the show!

A/N:  Thank you so much to my beta kukrae!  Without whom this chapter would not have been written!  Thanks to all who have reviewed!

Elliot pulled in and put the car in park.  Thoughts upon thoughts kept running thru his mind, many of those being of Olivia.  "Come on now Elliot.  Think of your wife.  She is the one inside the house waiting for you and you need to go in there and be the husband you know you can be."  The fact that he was talking to himself made him wonder if maybe he was starting to lose it, but he just blamed it on being tired.  He'd barely slept last night.  As he got out of the car, he almost ran into a guy walking from the house.  

"Hey man.  What are you doing here?" Elliot said as he tried to remember his name.  It was right on the tip of his tongue.  He was a friend of one of Kathy's co-workers, Ginny.  Now, if he could only remember his name.  Doug!  He knew that he had known it.

"I was just dropping off some stuff to Kathy for Ginny.  I gotta run though.  Nice seeing ya."  He seemed a bit nervous to Elliot but he ignored it thinking that the guy was just in a rush.  

"Okay.  See ya, Doug."  Elliot watched him get into his truck and was glad that he had parked on the curb instead of in the driveway.  He would have hated to have to get back in the car now that he was out.  As he turned and entered the house he saw Kathy standing at the door smiling at him.  

"Elliot.  What are you doing home?"  He looked up at the tone in her voice and wasn't sure if she was happy to see him or if they were getting ready for an argument. He hoped to hell it wasn't the latter.  It was so hard to tell with her these days.

"Believe it or not, Cragen gave Olivia and myself the next two days off, so I have a four day weekend."  At the shock in her eyes, he continued, "I know it shocked us too!" He leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I guess as long as I don't get paged, I am all yours for the next four days."  

"Really.  Great."  She didn't seem really happy but Elliot chalked it up to surprise.  "Dickie and the girls will be really excited."  Kathy hurried past him and started to head up to their bedroom.

Elliot started to follow her.  "Why are you coming upstairs honey?"  She inquired as she stopped and turned to face him on the stairs.  

"I was going to catch a little shut eye if that's okay with you.  I didn't get much sleep last night."   He started to walk again and stopped when he realized that she hadn't moved.  "What?  Is there a problem, or something you needed?"  Now that he was home the fatigue was too much for him and all he wanted to do was climb into his bed and sleep.

"Uh, uh, well, today is the day that I usually change all the linens and if you would just give me a minute, I'll just change them and then you can slide between two fresh sheets."  She gave him a really big smile.  "You look ready to drop,  honey, why don't you just sit and relax for a minute while I take care of that for you."  

"Kathy, you really don't need to.  I can change them later, you can just go and change the sheets on the kids' beds."  All he wanted to do was sleep.

"I just want to do something for you, baby.  It would make me feel good to be able to do this for you." She countered.  "Let's start your mini vacation off right!"

Elliot agreed, why fight about something so silly.  If he had just let her do what she wanted from the beginning then she would already be done and he could be in bed.  He followed her into the bedroom and couldn't help but notice the overwhelming scent of lavender. "Why does it smell like flowers in here?"  That's when he noticed the 3-wick candle burning on the nightstand. "Do you mind if I blow this out?"  

He didn't receive an answer as Kathy was too busy pulling all the sheets off the bed, and so he just walked over to the candle and blew it out.  He sat on the chair next to the bed and kicked off his shoes.  "So, what did Doug drop off to you?"  Kathy froze, but he missed it as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Uh," she muttered started putting the new sheets on. "Just the schedule for next week."

"I thought your schedule was fixed, Monday thru Wednesday."  He looked up sharply.  She had a deer in the headlights look on her face. "Did you change your hours?  You know that we should really talk about it before you make any big decisions on your hours.  Especially, with my crazy schedule."  

Her faced relaxed and she smiled sweetly at him. "No, I didn't change my hours.  I just needed it because I am going to be the head nurse this week and I needed to have their hours."  She patted the bed for Elliot to climb in.  "Ginny had requested a change, that's all."

"Wow!  You didn't tell me you were the head nurse this week.  Congratulations, honey." He murmured as his head hit the pillow.  He looked up at her and thought about the fact that it had been months since they were last together.  "Do you want to come and join me?"  At his suggestive smile, she shook her head no.  "Awww, come on, honey, its been awhile…."

She shook her head again. "El, you're tired and I have all this stuff to do, and I haven't even taken a shower yet."  

"All the better, you can shower after.  And I could definitely work up the stamina for a little one on one with you."  Elliot patted the bed next to him.  "Come on, you know you wanna."  

"You get some sleep and then maybe we'll play." Kathy offered as she got up and headed out of the room.  "Plus I have a doctor's appointment at 10:30, so I have to rush."  She brushed a kiss on his cheek and headed into the hallway. 

His last thought as he drifted off to sleep was that he hoped Olivia's day was going well.

**Meanwhile Across Town**

Olivia was walking out of the hospital with a smile spread across her face.  'Today is a great day!'  She thought to herself.  It was absolutely wonderful to be able to tell Baxter that today really was the first day of the rest of his life.  As she broke the news to him that he was cleared of all charges and wouldn't need to go back to jail, Olivia knew she would treasure the look that he'd given her forever.  It definitely made her feel like she made a difference in the world.  And the fact that he asked her to stay and be a part of his reunion with Karen and Danny, was unreal to her.  But as he put it, she was the reason that this moment was possible.

Olivia wanted to share her happiness and opened her cell phone to call Elliot but then stopped herself.  He had said that he was going to spend some quality time with his wife and she didn't want to interrupt it.  She was feeling so good and she really wanted to share this.  Who could she call?  Monique would be working, so she was out.  Then it hit her, Julie!  Julie works different schedules every week; maybe she would be able to meet up with her.

She quickly dialed Julie's number and got into her car as it was ringing.  "Hello?"  

"Hey Julie!  Its Olivia."

"Hey girl!  Long time no see!  How are you doing?"  Olivia could hear music being turned down in the background.

"Not a whole lot, except that I am off for the next four days and in the mood for some major Christmas shopping!  Are you game?"  

A squeal came thru the phone that was so loud she had to hold it away from her ear.  "Of course!  Just tell me when and where and girl, I am there."  

The smile just kept getting bigger, Julie had that effect on her.  "Okay, well I think that we should meet up at the best store in New York to start."

Julie thought for a moment. "Macy's?"

"Nope, FAO Schwartz!  I hear that since they are going out of business that they are having one heck of a big sale and I have four kids that I need presents for."  Olivia chuckled. "Plus, it's a really fun store to play in and I am in the mood to play."

They agreed to meet up and Olivia started her car and headed into the dreaded New York traffic.  But she, unlike most of the other drivers on the road, still had that big smile on her face and was looking forward to the rest of her day.  She couldn't believe how great her day has been.  She smiled, thinking about how the day could have gone so much different.  It could have been Andy with her this morning instead of Elliot and that would have been bad.  She nipped those thoughts in the bud and tried to focus on her upcoming shopping trip.  She still felt like she was forgetting something, but decided that she would remember if it was important. 

As she turned the music up to drown out the sounds of the traffic around her, she thought to herself, "Nothing could go wrong today."  If she only knew. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Lucky Man

Elliot woke up from slowly from an uneasy sleep.  His dreams were plagued with recurring images of the kiss shared with Olivia, however, when he opened his eyes in the dream, it was Kathy looking back at him and not Olivia.  Could it be his guilt of the kiss bothering him or was it something more?   A glance at the clock showed him that he had only been asleep for about 2 hours.  Kathy would be out at the doctor's office and the kids wouldn't be home for hours, so he decided to try and go back to sleep.  He tried to relax and erase those disturbing dreams from his mind, but gave up after tossing and turning for another hour.  

The bagel that he had eaten for breakfast was a fond memory and he decided after his shower to go to the kitchen and grab a bite to eat.  Nothing in the kitchen appealed to him so he decided to head out and grab some fast food.  He scribbled out a quick note to Kathy letting her know that he had run out and would be back before the kids got home.

Since it was such a beautiful day out Elliot decided that he would head out to a little diner that he and Kathy used to go to when the kids were really little and money had been short.  He tried to remember why they stopped going and couldn't come up with a reason why, especially since they had the best burgers in town.  The winter had been unseasonably warm and he decided to take advantage of it and drove with windows open and the music blasting.  It had been a really long time since he had been in the car by himself and not in a rush to be somewhere.  Now that he thought about it, this was the first he'd felt relaxed since the kiss.

He pulled into the diner's parking lot and was about to exit the car when something caught his eye.  He looked over and saw a couple arguing and wondered if he would need to interrupt but decided that they didn't look like they were going to get violent.  As he reached across to get his phone an alarm went off in his head.  It was as if he was in slow motion as he turned back again to look at the couple fighting by a blue pick up and realized that it was his wife and the guy from this morning!  Elliot just sat there, shell shocked as he watched them while trying to make sense of what he was seeing.  While he stared, all the odd things that he had noticed today started coming back to him.  Doug leaving his house in a rush so early this morning, Kathy not being mad about him being out all night, her nervousness and her refusal to be with him.  It all started to spell out something that he didn't want to see.  No, that he **couldn't** see.  He examined their body language and hoped to see something that would disprove what his eyes were telling him.  Proof that his wife wasn't cheating on him.  

His world as he knew it completely shattered as he saw Doug pull Kathy into his arms and kissed her like there was no tomorrow.  Suddenly their hands were all over each other as he pushed her up against the truck.  Elliot just sat there and observed them pawing each other.  All kinds of thoughts ran through his head.  Should he walk over there and confront them?  Should he pretend nothing happened and see if she comes clean?   As he was trying to decide, they took the decision away from him as they jumped into the truck and peeled out of the parking lot.  Elliot beat his hands on the steering wheel hoping to get out some of his hurt and anger, but all it did was cause a couple getting into their car to give him a funny look.

He grabbed his cell phone and punched in Olivia's phone number.  Elliot couldn't catch his breath and nearly screamed in frustration as he got her answering machine.  As he waited for her to pick up on her cell, he turned the key in the ignition and started backing out.  

"Benson."  Elliot couldn't find the words.  "Hello?"

He pulled into traffic and choked out, "Olivia?"  His voice was heavy with emotion and Olivia just knew something was really wrong.

"Elliot! What happened?  Are you okay?"  She anxiously inquired as she glanced worriedly at Julie.  

"Kathy…" He felt the tears coming on. "Look, I just need to see you. Now."

Olivia could hear the desperation in his voice.  "Elliot, where are you?"  She was trying to remain calm but she was alarmed by his tone. "I will meet you anywhere you want, just tell me where."

"I…I am, uh, shit!  I am driving around and I don't know where I am."  Olivia had never heard Elliot sound like this before and she was trying not to panic.

"Elliot.  Listen to me.  You are in no shape to drive and you need to pull over and look for a street sign to tell me where you are so I can be there as soon as I can."  She looked over at Julie and mouthed, "I have to go."  Julie understood and gave her a hug.  "I'll call you."

She turned her attention back to the phone and she heard Elliot cry out, "There is nowhere to turn around here but I see a light ahead and I'll turn off there."  

"Elliot, please calm down,"  Olivia pleaded.   "I am getting in my car now and will head out to meet you.  Do you know where you are?"

He looked up and caught a glimpse of a street sign.  "I am over by Sycamore Avenue and I am turning…" He didn't get to finish.  Olivia heard a horn blare, the unmistakable sounds of vehicle impact, and a short scream and then nothing.

"ELLIOT!"  Olivia screamed.  "ELLIOT!"  She looked down at her phone and saw that the call had been disconnected and she quickly dialed 911.  "There is a NYPD Detective that was just involved in a motor vehicle accident and he gave his last known location as being on Sycamore Avenue."   She was trying to keep her voice calm but the tears were rolling unchecked down her face.  

The 911 operator tried to keep the irritation out of her voice, "Ma'am, Sycamore Avenue is quite a long road, I would need more information to give to the emergency vehicles."  Olivia had to bite her tongue to keep from yelling at the woman because she knew she was right.  

"I know, but I was just on the phone…" The 911 operator interrupted her, "Ma'am, the accident was just reported in by one of the occupants and the emergency vehicles have been dispatched."  

"Oh God!  Thank you!"  She took a deep breath and then asked.  "Can you give the location of the accident?  The detective involved is my partner."

"I can't give that information out to you ma'am, but the emergency vehicles are coming up on the scene now.  If you will hold for a minute I can try to find out if they will be transporting anyone to the hospital."  She offered understanding how Olivia must be feeling right now. 

"Thank you so much!"  While on hold, Olivia tried to think optimistically.  Maybe it was just a small fender bender and the phone was thrown and turned off.  She wiped her face with the back of her hand and waited for the operator to come back on the line.

"Ma'am?"  The subdued tone made Olivia's stomach drop.  "Do you know which car your partner was in?"

"Uh, he would have been in a dark blue 1994 Mazda 626."  Olivia tried to rack her brain and remember the license plate number.  "The license plate started with…." 

"That's okay, I don't need the license plate number."  The operator interrupted.  "The driver of that vehicle will be transported to Mount Sinai Hospital according to the EMS crew."

Olivia already had the car in gear. "Thank you so much!"  

"I'm sorry I can't do more.  I really hope your partner's not seriously injured."  They ended the call and Olivia was on her way.  She wished that she had their department sedan right now so that she could just hit the siren and blow past all the traffic but she didn't and she couldn't.  She still made it to the hospital in record time.

Olivia ran into the emergency room and up to the receptionist on duty.  "Hi.  I am Detective Olivia Benson," she flashed her badge, "And my partner, Elliot Stabler, was involved in a MVA and transported here."   

The receptionist looked down at her list.  "Ah, he was just brought in."  She looked up at Olivia, "You said that you are his partner?"  

"Yes, I am.  Do you know anything about his condition?"  

"Unfortunately, I don't, honey.  They are back working on him right now.  I do need to get some information on him so could you fill out some forms for me?"  She handed Olivia a clipboard with a pen.  

"Sure, um, has anyone called his family?"  She inquired as she looked thru the mountain of paperwork.

"Not yet, we hadn't gotten to that point yet.  He was brought in about five minutes before you got here and we were in the process of pulling his files to see who his family contacts were."  She searched thru a stack of files that were just laid on her desk.  "It doesn't look like it's in this stack.  Would you want to call them or to give me the number to call?"  Olivia could tell that she really wanted her to make the call so she agreed to do so.

She walked out of the waiting room to the ambulance bay and tried to get hold of Kathy.  When she got the answering machine she left a short message stating that Elliot had been in a car accident and at which hospital.  She didn't have Kathy's cell phone number so the next call she made was to Captain Cragen.

"Cragen."  

"Captain." Olivia's voice broke.

"Olivia? I didn't expect to hear from you so soon.  What's wrong?"  He knew something was wrong by the sound of her voice.

She took a second to collect her thoughts.  "I am over here at Mount Sinai Hospital and they just brought Elliot in."

"Elliot!  Why?"  Cragen's voice rose and Munch and Finn heard it in the squad room and headed towards his office.  The captain looked up and waved them in.

"He was in a MVA and I don't know the extent of his injuries nor can I get hold of Kathy and …" Her voice trailed off as her emotions got the best of her.

"Take a deep breath, Olivia, he'll be fine.  I am on my way down there now."  

"Thank you, Captain." They disconnected the call.  Cragen looked up at the two detectives standing in his office and relayed the information.  Munch and Finn asked and received permission to go along, too, so the three of them grabbed their coats and headed out the door.

Olivia sat down in the waiting room and started to fill out the paperwork, waiting for word on Elliot's condition.  She could hardly concentrate on the papers in front of her as her mind just kept replaying the phone call and the sound of the accident.  "Elliot just had to be okay!"  Her mind screamed.  He just had to be okay.   


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Lucky Man

The first thing that he was aware of was blinding bright light.  It seemed to pierce his eyelids and he just wanted it to go away.  Gradually he began to hear all the noise around him and he slowly opened his eyes.  He looked up into a face that he didn't recognize.

"Ah, Mr. Stabler!"  The petite blonde exclaimed.  "You have had us a little worried.  Its nice to see you are awake."  She pressed the call button on the side of the hospital bed and started checking all the readouts on the machines surrounding it.  "The doctor will be in to check you out in just a minute."

Elliot tried to ask her why he was here and what was going on but when he tried all that came out was a dry raspy groan.  She immediately looked up, "Would you like something to drink?"  At his slow nod she held up a glass with a straw to his lips.  "Now just take a little sip, we don't want you to get sick."  While he tried to get rid of the dryness in his throat she kept chattering away.  Elliot listened enough to know her name was Jane and she was an ER nurse but other than that he let his mind wander.  

Suddenly he was broken out of his reveries by a loud booming voice that made him wince painfully.  "Why hello there, Elliot!  I'm Dr. Webber."  The doctor read quickly over his chart.  "I bet you have a whopper of a headache right now.  Jane will give you something to help take the edge off of the pain."  Before Elliot could ask him any questions, Dr. Webber continued, "You sir, are a very lucky man.  You were involved in a car accident.  Do you remember that?" At Elliot's nod, the doctor continued checking his vitals.  "You were unconscious for a while but it appears that you have just sustained a concussion and you will be sore for a few days."  He made some notes in the charts while he gave Elliot a moment to absorb all that he had been told.

"How..."  Elliot's voice cracked and he started over. "How long was I out?"

"Lets see here.  You were brought in at 11:14am and it is now about 5:42pm," he checked his watch, "so it's been about 6 and a half hours."

Elliot couldn't believe that he had been out for that long and not have any other problems.  "Are you sure that a concussion is the only problem that I have?"

Dr. Webber looked up at the concerned voice of his patient and smiled.  "You are extremely lucky to have only sustained that.  You have a few cuts and bruises but no stitches were needed.  No broken bones and all the x-rays and scans show that everything else is the way it's supposed to be."  At Elliot's relieved sigh the doctor continued, "Now I have quite a few people out in the waiting room that are waiting to see you.  Are you ready for some company?"

"Sure, I guess."  Dr. Webber turned to leave but was stopped by Elliot's next question. "Doc, will I have to be in here for much longer?  When can I go home?"  As he asked this question the thought ran through his head, 'Do I even have a home anymore?'  The picture of Kathy with Doug flashed through his mind and he shut his eyes hoping it would go away.  The doctor saw the flinch and thought that the pain medication wasn't working and made a quick note on his chart to up the dosage. 

"We need to keep you here for just a few more hours for observation and then you will be free to go home.  Will that work for you?"  Elliot nodded but then requested that the doctor not tell his family that.  Dr. Webber gave him a quizzical look and agreed not to.  Elliot tried to cover by saying that he wanted to break the good news to them himself.  That made sense to the doctor and he was smiling again when he left the room.

Elliot expected to see Kathy first, since she was technically still his wife and immediate family.  He was really dreading having to face her so he was pleasantly surprised to see Olivia, and Capt. Cragen walk through the door.  Olivia walked over to him and leaned over to give him a quick hug.

"Damn you Elliot!  Don't you ever pull anything like that on me again!"  Olivia admonished him, all the while looking in his eyes to make sure that he really was okay and then hugged him again.  "You scared the shit out of me!"

"I didn't do it on purpose, Olivia!"  At her murderous expression, Elliot looked over her shoulder at his boss.  "Help me out here Cap!"  He pleaded.   

Cragen came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder to pull her back, "Come on, Olivia.  He is okay so you can beat him up later after he's healed."  At that remark, she relaxed and let out a short laugh.

"Then I will be able to see the marks that I leave on him and know that they are from me and not the accident," she agreed.

"Gee, thanks, guys."  Elliot's mood was lifting being teased by them. "I can so feel the love.  All that is missing is having Munch and Finn here getting in on the action."

"Actually, if you had woken up about an hour ago they would have been here but a case came up and they had to bolt," Cragen explained.  "They promised that they would check in with you later.  You really did give us a scare there, Elliot."  After a few more pleasantries the captain made his excuses and headed out.  Once she was sure he was out of earshot Olivia started in on him.

"What in the hell happened out there, Elliot?  You called me all upset and then while I am talking to you I could hear the accident!"  She sat down and pulled the chair near the bed.  "Talk to me."

He brought his hand up and started massaging the bridge of his nose.  "Before I go into all of that, I have to ask, where is my wife?"  The tone that he used when he said 'wife' brought her head up sharply.

"She went home to check on the kids and make them dinner and then she was going to return."  Olivia leveled her eyes with his and he saw her going into 'detective mode'.  "You mentioned Kathy's name to me during the call.  What happened, Elliot?  Did you guys get into a fight?"  Her eyes got big, "Did she kick you out?!"

He didn't know where to begin so he just started with how she was acting when he got home this morning and didn't stop until he got to the part where he called her.  "Oh my God, El!  I would never have imagined that Kathy would, well you know."

"I feel so stupid, Liv.  All the signs were there but I guess I just chose not to see them."  His anger started to build replacing the sadness he had been experiencing during the telling of his day.  "You would think that I would have seen it right away!  I work in the sex crimes unit!  You would think that I would have noticed that my wife was out having sex with someone else!"

"Elliot!  Stop that right now!  You can't blame yourself for not seeing it!"  She was getting angry herself and stood up and started pacing.  "You didn't want to see it and you never, shit, I never thought that Kathy would cheat on you."

"I don't know what to do, Olivia.  I just don't know what to do."  At that moment Jane came back in to check his IVs.  

"How is my favorite patient doing?"  Elliot realized that her perkiness was going to drive him crazy.  "Looks like these can go.  I'll be back in a minute to take these out and we can start getting your papers together for release."  

"I thought the doctor wanted me to stay in for a couple of hours."  He knew that he hadn't been talking to Olivia for that long.

"Well, you are doing really good and the doctor stated we could get started in releasing you.  It will still take a little while though," her laugh bubbled thru the room, "They take forever around here getting paperwork done."  She headed out of the room.

"I would have to kill her if she were my nurse," Olivia remarked as the room fell quiet again. "She is way too perky."

Elliot agreed but decided to tease her a bit. "Aw, come on, admit it."

"Admit what?"

"You're just jealous."  He was proud of himself; he actually got the words out with a straight face.  

"Jealous of her?!?"  She turned to him, "I think you hit your head a little too hard, Stabler.

"Not of her, you're jealous of me."  He was fighting to keep back the laughter. "You just can't stand that for once, I am the one getting all the attention."  Elliot shook his head and almost pulled it off except that he happened to look at her stunned expression and that's when he lost it.  God, it hurt to laugh but the look on her face was priceless.

"You will pay for that one, Elliot.  Just you wait."  She threatened as Jane bounced back into the room.

"Let's get those IVs off of you."  Elliot winced as she pulled out the IVs.  "Now, did you want Sponge Bob Squarepants or Scooby Doo band aids?"

Olivia answered for him, "He just _loves _Sponge Bob, give him that one."  Elliot threw her a dirty look as Sponge Bob appeared on his hand.  

"I just love him, too!  He is such a cutie, isn't he?"  Jane bounced back out not waiting for the answer.

Olivia walked back over to him and looked down at the horrendous band-aid.  "Well, I feel better now.  How about you El?"  She was trying to keep his mind off of their earlier conversation and he knew it, but he just couldn't play along anymore.

"Not good, Liv.  Not good at all."  He settled back down on the bed and stared at the phone.  "I guess I should call her."  There was no question as to whom he was talking about.  "I just don't know what to say to her or how to react."

"Well, she is probably just as nervous as you are about it.  She was nearly climbing the walls earlier in the waiting room."  Olivia went on; unaware that Kathy didn't know that he knew.  "Now it makes sense that she left, she was too afraid to face you knowing that this accident was primarily her fault.  If you hadn't been upset, then you may have seen the guy that ran the red light and would have been able to avoid the accident."  She was going to continue but Elliot interrupted.

"She doesn't know that I saw them," as he tried to formulate his thoughts. "I had just pulled into the parking lot and they were so busy fighting that they didn't see me.  Before I knew it, they had jumped into the truck and were gone.  I didn't even try to follow them. I just sat there," his words getting lost as tears filled his voice again.  He raised a hand to wipe his eyes.

"Oh, El."  She walked over and took his hand and settled on the side of the bed.  "It didn't even occur to me that she didn't know."  Olivia still couldn't believe that Kathy could have been running around, she just didn't seem the type.  

He started to second-guess what happened, "What if it was one of those heat of the moment things?  What if there really isn't anything going on?"  He wanted to believe this; he didn't want to think that his wife had slept with someone else.  "Do you think I could have been wrong about what I saw?"  He looked hopefully up at Olivia.

She really doubted that it was innocent but didn't know how to tell Elliot what she really thought.  "I wish I knew Elliot.  I really do!  Maybe you need to just talk to Kathy.  She is the only one who can clear this up."  He looked over at the phone, knowing that she was speaking the truth.  He should call and try to give her the benefit of the doubt, especially since he had shared a kiss last night with Olivia and stayed at her apartment, but that seemed completely different from the groping he saw in the parking lot.  He looked over at Olivia and almost told her about the kiss last night, just so she might be able to understand all that he was going through right now, but decided this was not the time.  Then again, maybe there never would be a right time.

He reached for the phone and dialed his home.  Olivia saw him tense up as the phone was ringing, but saw him visibly relax as a voice came over the line.  She assumed that it had to be one of the kids and it was verified when he said Maureen's name.  

Olivia let her thoughts wander while Elliot completed his phone call.  She wished that this wasn't happening to Elliot.  He was such a good man and loving father and she just couldn't see how Kathy could want to be with anyone else.  It just didn't make sense to her that she could be that stupid. She got up and walked around the room trying not to eavesdrop on his call when she realized that Elliot was off the phone.

"Well, that wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I didn't have to talk to Kathy, and I told them that you could give me a ride home.  That is okay isn't it?"  He slowly sat up and started to look for his stuff.  

"Sure can," she replied without hesitation and then added, "Are you sure that you want to go home?"  

"Yeah, I have to see her face-to-face and we need to figure out what exactly is going on.  Plus, the kids are really worried and if I didn't come home it would look like we are lying to them and I am hurt worse than I am."  Olivia couldn't find fault with his reasoning.  She helped him get his stuff together and sign all the papers and before they knew it they were on the way to his house.

As they pulled into the driveway, Olivia broke through his thoughts, "If you need someone to talk to or need anything at all, don't hesitate to call me.  Okay, partner?"  

"Of course, Olivia.  Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."  He reached over and brushed the back of his hand down her cheek.  "Thanks, Liv," he said and turned to climb out of the car slowly.  Elliot stood by the car for a moment and then straightened up, threw back his shoulders and headed into the house.   

Olivia watched as he walked into the house before she pulled out of the driveway and headed back to her apartment.  To think, last night she was out with Andy and getting drunk and this wonderful man came and took care of her.   Now she just wanted to be able to be able to return the favor and take care of him.  She wanted to take him in her arms like she had last night, and …Oh my God. She didn't.  Oh, no…she did.  She'd KISSED Elliot last night!  She was dumbfounded as to how she could ever forget such an event.  But…wait a minute.  Why didn't he tell her?  She'd asked him if she'd done anything stupid and he'd denied that she had.  At that moment, Elliot was very lucky that he wasn't still in the car because she was pretty sure that she would have hit him.  'Oh God…did I forget anything else?'  She wracked her brain and eventually determined that sine they both woke up on her couch fully dressed, there didn't appear to be much to worry about.  On the other hand, Elliot _would_ have told her if more happened…wouldn't he?  

What a horrible day this turned out to be…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 

Disclaimer:  I do not own Law & Order SVU or any of the characters, I just like to play with them.

A/N:  Thanks a bunch to my beta kukrae, without whom this would not be possible!  Thanks to all that have reviewed!  Please R&R

Elliot awoke to the ringing of the telephone and wondered why no one was answering.  Then he remembered that Kathy was doing carpool for the kids today.  He reached over to grab the phone and groaned in pain.  The doctor was right, he felt like he had been hit by a truck.  He chuckled to himself, a truck, a Fed Ex truck to be exact, had hit him.

"Hello?"  He lay back on the bed and willed his head to stop pounding.

"Is Kathy Stabler in, please?"  

"No, I am sorry she's not in right now.  This is her husband, could I help you?  Or can I take a message?"  He stifled back a yawn as he prayed that it wasn't a telemarketer because he just didn't think that he had the strength to deal with it.

"Actually, could I ask you to hold for a moment?  I am the only one on the phones this morning," she apologized.  

"Of course."  Elliot took advantage of the hold to sit back and contemplate his evening last night.  He'd been so tired when he got home last night after dealing with the kids and getting settled he ended up falling asleep.  The clock showed that it was almost 9:30 am, so Kathy would be home soon and then they would talk.  All the suspicions he had about what he had seen were tearing him up inside and he knew that he just needed to know the truth.  

"Mr. Stabler?" her small voice interrupted his thoughts.  "Like I was saying before we were interrupted, my name is Susan and I am calling from Dr. Jacobs' office."  

Elliot couldn't imagine why Kathy's OBGYN was calling and then he remembered that she had gone to the doctor's office yesterday.  God, yesterday morning seemed like forever ago.  "Okay."  He prompted.

"I am just calling back with your wife's test results, and I am happy to inform you that you and your wife will be welcoming a new little bundle of joy into your home."  He never would have realized that such a cheerful and excited voice could be the harbinger of doom.  "Dr. Jacobs wants to schedule another appointment within the month, so if you could have Kathy call back and schedule it, that would be great."

"Wow, thanks for the information," he couldn't believe that he actually was able to string words together.  "Does the chart say how far along she is?"  Elliot was holding out hope that she was at least three months along so there would be no question in his mind.

"It doesn't say but by the information your wife provided the doctor about her last menstrual cycle, she would be approximately six weeks or so.  Dr. Jacobs would be able to give a more likely time frame after the next appointment."  

"Well, I will definitely pass the message along and thank you for all the information," said Elliot as he sat up in the bed.  "Have a good day."

"You too Mr. Stabler.  Again, congratulations."  The call ended and Elliot just sat and listened to the dial tone.  He hung up the phone and stared at the wall.  He did the calculations and thought back to the last time that they had been intimate and it was so long ago.  How could this have happened?  There is no way that the baby could be his.  Why didn't he get suspicious of the fact that they hadn't had sex?  There were so many times that he tried to initiate it and she rebuffed him.  Some nights she was too angry with him, other nights she didn't feel good or she was too tired.  How could I not pick up on it?  What kind of detective can I be when I missed all these signs?  What was he going to do?

He heard the front door open and Kathy come in.  "Let the games begin," he thought.  She came up the stairs and headed into the room.

"Hi, honey.  I didn't think you would be up yet.  You should be resting."  Kathy walked over to him and placed a small kiss on his cheek.  She took his silence to mean that he was still not quite awake.  "How are you feeling this morning?  I hope that I didn't wake you when I came in."  She moved around the room picking up the clothes on the floor and straightening up.  When she still received no response, Kathy turned and looked at him and what she saw scared her.  "Elliot?!"  She rushed over to him.

He just sat there remembering their life together, the first time he saw her walking across the campus towards him, their first date, the day they found out that Maureen was on her way, their wedding, the birth of their children and tears began to well up.  

"Are you in that much pain?"  Kathy looked on the nightstand for his pain medication and started to take out a pill when Elliot reached out and stopped her.  She looked up into his eyes and couldn't believe the pain that she saw there.

"Do you really want me to answer that Kathy?"  The tone in his voice scared her to the core.  It was so empty sounding and he was still crying.

"Elliot, what is going on?  You are scaring me."  She was now kneeling down in front of him and looking up into his tortured eyes.  

"I just got an interesting phone call from Dr. Jacobs."  All the color faded from Kathy's face.  She started just shaking her head, almost in denial.  Elliot nodded, "Yes, you my dear are pregnant."  Tears were now welling up in her eyes. "According to their information you are approximately six weeks along."  Elliot dropped her hand and abruptly stood up.  

"Uh," she tried to catch her breath.  "Elliot?"  Kathy couldn't move.  She couldn't think.  All she knew was that life, as she knew it was over.

Elliot was now pacing, ignoring the pain that it was sending through his body. "Most husbands would be overjoyed to find out that their wife is pregnant."  He let out a harsh laugh.  "But those husbands wouldn't have watched their wives all but fuck a man out in a parking lot for all the world to see!"  He was now yelling but he couldn't stop, it was all coming out.  "I should have known yesterday when I came home and you were so nervous and he was leaving.  But stupid me, I didn't have a clue!  Until I pulled up to the diner and guess what?  You were there!  With him!"  Elliot was barely holding it together.  "I decided to talk to you about it but I fell asleep last night. I was thinking that we might be able to work through it but there is no way that will happen now!"

Kathy was sobbing.  "Elliot, please…." She had to start over, "Please, give me a chance to explain!"

"Explain?!  What do you think you can explain?  You CHEATED on me!  You can't deny it, so don't even bother trying."  He was so disgusted with her that he couldn't even look at her.  "We haven't had sex in over three months, Kathy, and they said that you aren't any more than six weeks!  You are going to have another man's child."  With that, the wedding photo he'd picked up to look at went sailing and hit the wall with a loud crash. Kathy looked up sharply.

"What did you do that for?" she cried.

"Was it all a lie?  Was our whole marriage a lie?" asked Elliot as he collapsed back onto the bed and finally looked over at her.  "Why Kathy?"  

"Did we really have a marriage, Elliot? You are always gone and I am here by myself raising our children."  She tried to control her sobbing.  "You never talk to me anymore unless its about the kids or bills.  I began to feel like your maid, not your wife!"  All the years of frustration came poring out.  "Doesn't it tell you something that we could go months without sex?  You'd come home from work all upset about what you had seen or had to deal with and you'd go off and sit and not talk to me about anything.  You would call Olivia or Munch and talk to them but Lord forbid you talk to your wife!"  Her anger was replacing the tears.  "Do you think I didn't notice the nights that you would go out with them after work or go to Olivia's but you would tell me you were at work?  Do you really think that I am that stupid?!"  At the look on his face her anger evaporated and she sat on the bed next to him.  "I am so sorry, Elliot.  I never set out to hurt you, I just started talking to Doug one day and it was nice to have someone really be interested in what I had to say.  Soon we were meeting for coffee and talking about his divorce and then…" her voice trailed off.  

"Do you love him?"  It killed Elliot to ask but he really did need the answer.

Kathy couldn't meet his eyes; she looked down at her wedding ring.  "I'm not sure how to answer that."  

"BULLSHIT!" Elliot literally jumped up from the bed and began to pace as he continued vehemently.  "Do you love him?  It is a simple question, yes or no."  Kathy watched him pace, wishing she could give him the answer that he wanted, but knowing that she couldn't.

"Yes."  She said it so quietly that he almost missed it.  Instantly the anger fled and he just felt defeated.  The tears that had, until this time, remained in check now broke free as he just stood and stared at her.  He never imagined that his marriage would end like this.  The vows he took, he meant, 'til death do us part' were the way it was to have been for them.    "Elliot, I am so sorry," Kathy seemed to be pleading with him to understand.

"You're sorry, I'm sorry.  This whole mess is sorry."  Elliot sunk into the chair facing the bed and rested his head in his hands.  They both sat in silence, lost into their own thoughts.  

Finally, Elliot broke the silence, "What do we do now, Kathy?"  Looking at her like she would have the answer but all she could do was continue to cry.  He decided that for now he just had to get out of there.  Ignoring his protesting muscles, he rose from the chair quickly, which startled Kathy and went into the closet.  He came out with a suitcase and a garment bag.  He grabbed some suits and put them into the garment bag and then went over to his dresser and started to just throw clothes into the suitcase.

She couldn't comprehend what he was doing.  "Elliot, what are you doing?  Why are you packing?"

He just looked up at her, "You have got to be kidding, right?  You expect me to stay here with you?"  The feelings of betrayal and anger were starting to overwhelm Elliot again as stared at her.  "I have to get out of here.  I can't even bear to look at you for the moment and I don't want the kids to see me like this."  He stopped his packing and leveled a hard look at her, "Did you even once consider our children and what this would do to them?  Or were you just so wrapped up in your _needs,_" he spat out that word, "that you forgot about our children?  Our family."  As he closed the suitcase, he grabbed his jeans from the chair and slid them on.  "I will be on my cell, so if one of kids need me they can get hold of me."  

Kathy stood and blocked the doorway to keep him from leaving.  "Elliot, lets talk all this out and get everything settled before you leave," she pleaded.  "Please don't leave like this!"

"Right now, Kathy, if we talk," he paused trying to find the right words, "If we talk, I am likely to tell you to kiss my ass.  Now please get out of my way and I will contact you later when I have had time to process the fact that my marriage is over, that my wife is not only in love with someone else but that she is also carrying his child.  It's a bit much to deal with right now."  

"What do I tell the kids?"  Kathy was terrified of telling them the truth and seeing the hatred and pain they would feel being directed towards her.  

"I really don't think that you should tell them what is happening right now.  We will sit and talk to them about all this once we have the divorce plans finalized," he finished wearily. "For now, just tell them that I had to work or something."

At the mention of divorce, Kathy jerked her head up and she looked in his eyes.  At that moment she realized the pain she had caused, his eyes were as tortured, as they were the night after the little girl, Lucy, had been taken off life support.  "Elliot, I am so sorry!  I never wanted to hurt you!"  She could see her pleas were falling on deaf ears.

"Kathy, I have to leave."   She moved and let him pass knowing that she had just lost him forever.  

"Goodbye, Elliot."  He didn't even acknowledge her as he trudged down the steps and out of the home that they had shared.  

He walked out onto the porch and went to get into his car and realized that it wasn't there due to the accident.  It had been towed in to have estimates completed for the insurance company.  "What else can go wrong?" he thought.  Instead of taking Kathy's car he decided that he would call the one person that he knew he could always count on, Olivia.

She picked up on the first ring, almost as if she'd been waiting for his call.  The automatic, "I'm on my way," was music to his ears.  A moment after he hung up with her his cell phone rang and he actually cracked a smile as he recognized the incoming number.  It was Olivia, of course.  

"Hey partner.  I figured that I could keep you company while I fight through traffic to get to you," she said in his ear.  He could hear the smile in her voice from those many miles away.

"I appreciate that."

"Plus, I figure your neighbors wouldn't think you're too crazy to be sitting out on your porch at nine something in the morning with your suitcase sitting beside you, if you happened to be on the phone."  Olivia was trying to get his mind off of all the troubles with Kathy by teasing him, and it was taking some of the edge off of his pain.  "You wouldn't want the neighbors to be talking about you, now would you?"

They continued to talk until she pulled up in front of the house and he climbed into the car.  "Where to now?"

"Anywhere as long as it's away from here."  He laid his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes.  Olivia could see the strain of the last two days wearing on him so she offered to take him to her apartment to catch some shuteye and that's when she realized that he was already asleep.  

'Aw, shit," she thought as she looked over at him in concern as she maneuvered the car back onto the street.  'If he's out of it like this right now, I wonder just how bad the confrontation was this morning.  Well, turn about is fair play and I owe him some TLC for the other night.  But, in all fairness, I'll leave out the kiss this time.'

For some reason, that last thought depressed her. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 

Disclaimer:  I don't own Law & Order SVU but I would like too.

A/N:  Thanks again to Kukrae!  Please read and review!

***************************************

Olivia glanced up as she heard a cell phone ring, it wasn't hers and she didn't remember seeing Elliot's.  She searched until she found it in his coat and flipped the phone open quickly hoping that whomever it was hadn't hung up yet.  

"Hello?"

"Olivia?" came the confused voice at the other end of the line.

"Hi, Kathy," she cautiously answered as she looked down the hallway to make sure that Elliot was still sleeping.  

"I can tell by the sound of your voice that you already know the whole story.  I knew that Elliot would end up running to you if he ever found out."  Kathy sounded so depressed that for a moment Olivia's heart went out to her.  Then she remembered how upset Elliot was and what had made him upset and those feelings disappeared.  "Look, can I talk to Elliot?"

"I'm sorry, but he is sleeping right now and after all he has been through, I just don't have the heart to wake him up."  She'd be damned if she would disturb him right now.  "Unless of course there is some emergency with the kids, but I don't think that is the case as you would have said so immediately."

Kathy had expected Olivia to go into full attack mode once she knew everything, so she really wasn't surprised by the brush off she was being given.  "It's not an emergency but I really do need to talk to him and I thought that he would have had time to calm down from this morning and maybe we could talk now."

"Well, lets see, it's only been about six hours since you completely destroyed his world, and I don't think that he is really ready to talk to you yet," Olivia countered.  "If you had found out that Elliot was cheating on you, do you think you would be okay enough to talk about it yet?"

She sighed and wondered why she felt the need to defend herself to Olivia, but she knew that she needed to try.  "I learned a long time ago that I wasn't number one in his life, Olivia.  I've had to compete with the job and with you for years now, that is part of the reason this happened."  Kathy took a deep breath and continued, "I am not trying to say what I did was right but it's done, and I can't change it.  I NEVER set out to hurt Elliot and it tears me up inside that I did."  Olivia could hear her start to cry.  "Once he gets past the initial anger, he will see that this is for the best.  We haven't really had a marriage for years.  On the rare occasions when we did see each other, all we talked about were the kids, the house or bills.  He never talked to me about his work or how it affected him.  For all intents and purposes, he shut me out of his life.  I don't know why I am telling you all of this.  Maybe its because I know that you love him too and that you will take care of him through this."  

That statement shocked Olivia to the core.  She never expected to hear Kathy say something like that.  It was on the tip of her tongue to deny it, but then she realized that she couldn't seem to form the words.  What did that mean?  She looked down the hallway again and felt a warmth wash through her as she thought of him currently sleeping in her bed.  At that moment she realized that Kathy was still talking.

"For so long I have been jealous of you.  He shared his life with you and you two seemed more in touch with each other than he and I ever were.  I know that you know that we got married because I was pregnant with Maureen and I never wondered if we had done the right thing until I saw the two of you together."  Olivia sunk down onto the couch, not believing that Kathy was confessing all this to her.  "The two of you complete each other and I realized after seeing that connection that I wanted the same thing.  I tried for years to bring that, I…I don't know, a spark, a…a passion back into our marriage and it didn't happen."  Now that she was on a roll she was letting all of her feelings out. "That's when I met Doug.  It was a chance meeting, he was dropping off the final divorce papers to his wife, now, ex-wife.  Something just clicked and we out for coffee and then it turned into lunches, then the occasional dinner and well, you know the rest."  She paused to take a breath and Olivia took that as an invitation to interrupt.

"But you were married," that simple statement said it all for Olivia.  "You took vows before God to forsake all others and you threw it all away."  She was so caught up in the call, that she didn't hear Elliot shuffling down the hall from her room.  "Elliot is one of the finest men that I have ever had the privilege of knowing and if I were lucky enough to be his wife and be loved by him then I would never have let it slip away.  But YOU threw that away!"  Olivia didn't realize that as she said this her voice had continued to rise in volume.  "You threw away your husband, your marriage and your family.  I hope to God that he was worth all this!"

At her words, Elliot halted in the hallway and stood there in disbelief.  The words _' if_ _I were lucky enough to be his wife and be loved by him then I would never have let it slip away'_ kept running through his mind and he basked in warm feeling that it gave him.

Kathy was so quiet for a moment that Olivia thought that she had hung up the phone.  "Think about what you just said, Olivia," she spoke so quietly that Olivia had to strain to hear her voice.  "You just said it all.  You love him the way that I couldn't and I know that he may hate me for what I have done but in the long run it is for the better.  I love Doug the way that you just described, and I hate that I couldn't love Elliot that way.  I've known for years that I was all that was stopping you guys from getting together.  I made it all safe.  Well, now I won't be there anymore so please take care of him for me."  Kathy started to cry softly, "Just tell Elliot I called and would like to discuss what to do next."  

Olivia was still trying to digest the bomb that Kathy had just dropped on her and before she could form a reply, Kathy was gone.  She slowly lowered the phone and just stared at the black television screen.  She couldn't be right?  Could she?   Elliot and I are just best friends and partners, right?  Then the memory of the kiss flashed through her mind and she shut her eyes and tried to recapture the feelings that she felt at that moment.  

Elliot knew that she had been talking to Kathy and he was worried about her since she was just sitting there not moving or talking.  He came up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder.  She nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to look up at him.  As her eyes met his, she realized that everything Kathy had said was true, at least for her anyway.  She was in love with Elliot Stabler.  

"Are you okay?"  She had an odd look in her eye and it made Elliot feel a bit uneasy.  "I would ask who was on the phone but I already know based on your comments."  He came around the couch and settled in next to her.  "Should I say thank you for your defense of me?  Or should I be worried about what she was saying to you?"

"Huh, what?"  She was lost in her thoughts and didn't hear him.  "I'm sorry Elliot, what did you say?"

He cut her a worried look, "Are you okay?  What did she say to you?"

Olivia decided that now was NOT the time to let him in on her great epiphany, that she loves him.  "She was trying to plead her case with me, but as you heard, it wasn't working."  She gave him a strained smile, "You know that my loyalties always lie with my partner."  A beeping noise filled the small apartment, "Oh no!  My lasagna!"  She hopped up and ran to the oven.  

Elliot followed her into the kitchen and tried to stay out of her way as she ran for the potholders and wrestled the pan out of the oven.  "Ow, damn it!  That hurt!"  She stuck her finger in her mouth and started sucking on it.  When he let out a laugh, she threw one of the potholders at him.  "You are so mean!  I try to do something nice for you by cooking one of your favorite dinners and you laugh at me when I get burnt," she shot him a dirty look.  "And you call me your friend."  

"I'm sorry."  She didn't buy it at all and shot him another look.  "You want to get hurt some more don't you?  I do have more potholders…" she trailed off, the threat implied.  

Elliot found himself drawn to her mouth as she started sucking on her finger again.  He felt a stirring in his mid-region and had to turn away for a moment to compose himself.  'Where did that come from?' He wondered to himself and dismissed it thinking that it was just a reaction from all the stress he had been under.  

When he turned back around he saw Olivia starting to serve up the lasagna and offered to help.  "Just because I burned my finger, doesn't mean that I can't serve my guest."  She sent him a frazzled smile and added, "Don't forget, I always put a little bit of myself in everything that I cook."  

Elliot saw what she was doing and decided to play along.  "Hold up your hands."  She gave him a funny look and asked why.  "Just do it.  Hold up your hands."

She held them up and gave him a quizzical look.  "Why am I doing this?"  

He slowly counted all her fingers and then gave her a dazzling smile. "You can put them down now."  He grabbed a plate and headed over to the kitchen table.

"Hey!  You can't leave me hanging like that!"  She grabbed her plate and followed him over to the table.

"I just wanted to make sure that you still have all your fingers.  I would hate to bite into a mouthwatering forkful of lasagna and end up with a finger."  At her outburst of laughter he gave her an innocent look. "You're the one who said that you put a little bit of yourself into everything…"  

"You jerk," she interrupted.  As they sat there laughing, Olivia realized that Elliot would be okay because he was acting like himself.  She was afraid that when he woke up that he would still be the destroyed man she picked up hours ago.  She sent up a silent prayer of thanks.

"So how did shopping go yesterday?"  Elliot couldn't believe that it was only yesterday that she had planned the shopping trip.  

Her eyes lit up as she started to fill him in on the excursion that she shared with Julie.  "We spent the whole trip at FAO Schwartz and had a blast!  We were leaving the store when you called me."  A shadow passed over her eyes, but she shook it off and continued with her story.  "I had a lot of fun picking out gifts for your kids."  Elliot looked up in surprise that she had thought of his kids.

"I can't believe that you found presents for all my kids at a toy store," he paused to taste the lasagna.  "Hey, this is pretty good.  I didn't know you could cook like this."

She gave him a small smile as she poured out their drinks.  "You never asked if I could cook and usually when we share meals we are out somewhere or I would stop by your house."  She joined him at the table and cut a look up at him.  "There are a lot of things that you don't know about me, Stabler."

Elliot drew his head up and thought to himself, 'Could she be flirting with me?'  As soon as the thought ran through his mind he dismissed it.  He believed that he just misunderstood her tone.  "So what else don't I know about you, Olivia?"

She took a moment to respond, "Well, you don't know that I am a really good cook and I actually like to bake.  I never brought in the stuff I made to the office because I didn't want you guys to think of me as the little woman."

"Trust me, Olivia, no one thinks of you as the little woman!"  She felt a little hurt by the laughter that she heard in his voice, but that disappeared at his next statement.  "We all know that you could take any of us down at any time."  He leaned forward, "Especially Fin, I think that he is really afraid that you will go off on him one day and he'll have to admit that he was taken down by a girl."

She had to laugh.  "And where did you get this nugget of wisdom?"

"Straight from the horse's mouth, well from the horse's partner anyway," he shrugged and sat back to watch her reaction.

"From his partner?  Right," she smiled.  "I think that Munch was pulling your leg."

He feigned a hurt look, "You think that he wasn't telling me the truth?"  He brought his hand to his chest trying to pretend he was upset but failed miserably when he burst out laughing.  She just shook her head at him and kept eating.

She decided to tell him about the gifts and the stories behind them.  "I couldn't figure out what to get for Dickie, so I had to get a salesperson to help me.  Julie just loved his name, Stewey.  Well, anyways, Stewey thought that a boy Dickie's age would just love a paintball gun."  She grinned from ear to ear.

"You got my son a what?"  Elliot wasn't sure that he had heard her right.  "You got my 13 year old son a paintball gun?  Are you out of your mind?!"  

"It's the best one on the market and it came with all the protective gear and I even got him a one year membership to a paint ball club." Elliot interrupted.  

"Please tell you that you are kidding."  Elliot looked at her hopefully.

She laughed at the look on his face.  "The look on your face is making me think that you don't like the gift that I got him.  You know he is going to absolutely love it!"  She paused at the incredulous look on his face, "Oh, and did I tell you yet that I got you the same thing?"

"I don't know what you were thinking," he said with certainty.  "I would never have bought something like that for him."  

"I know that, that is why I bought it."  She grinned over at him, "I don't have to worry about the repercussions of the gift, you do."

"You know, I will get you back for this."  He threatened as they continued their meal.  

"I am counting on it, Stabler."  She sat back in her chair and smiled, she could get used to this.  Usually when she would reach this level of comfort with someone she was dating, she would run the other way as fast as she possibly could.  Instead, she actually was finding herself wishing it would never end.  But she knew that it was impossible, he was coming out of a 20-year marriage and his life was in shambles.  Everything that Kathy had said about her having feelings for Elliot kept running through her head.  

After dinner they decided to chill out in front of the T.V. and just relax.  There was an unspoken agreement between them not to mention Kathy, so the evening passed comfortably.  As they were dozing off on the couch during the late movie, Olivia was aware of Elliot shifting so that she was lying against his shoulder with his arm wrapped around her.  She knew that she should get up and go to her room but she couldn't resist lying there for a moment, and before she knew it she was asleep, with Elliot's arms around her.

Her last thought before sleep overtook her was that maybe she did have a chance at happiness.

With Elliot.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

Disclaimer:  I do not own Law & Order: SVU – I only wish that I did!

A/N:  Thank you to all that have reviewed!  And I bow down to Kukrae and thank her for all her help for being the best beta ever!!!!  J

The first thing that Elliot was conscious of when he awoke was the smell of coffee.  Then he let out a groan at the next, an aching pain in his neck.  As he slowly sat up a mug of coffee appeared in front of his face.

"Good morning sleepy head."  Olivia plunked down on the chair next to him after he took the mug from her with a lukewarm smile.  "I was beginning to think that you would never wake up."

All she got in response was a grunt as he attempted to alleviate the pain in his neck by a series of strange body movements.  Olivia just watched trying to keep from smiling due to the odd body contortions and then she decided to take pity on him.  She put her mug down and came up behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders.   At her touch he jerked and caused her to bite back a giggle.

"Relax, Stabler.  I am just going to try to help you with the crick in your neck."  Elliot let out a groan as she started to work her magic by massaging his shoulders, neck and head.  

"My God Olivia," he groaned.  "You have a gift!"

"You need to thank Julia, she was my roommate at school and she decided that she was going into physical therapy and she taught me all kinds of things."  He tried to angle his head to look up at her, to see if he was supposed to read more into what she said.  Again the thought that she could be flirting with him ran through his mind.  

She stilled her hands and threatened, "I will stop what I am doing if you don't relax."  He immediately stilled and became putty in her hands.  He just sat there and managed to let his body relax and just enjoy the massage.  Then he began to let his mind wander and to think about all the other 'things' that Julie could have taught her and he stiffened up as he realized that he was becoming aroused.  'Thank God I have a blanket over my lap!' he thought to himself and tried to relax again and get his mind out of the gutter.

"Now how does that feel?"  Olivia inquired as she rested her hands on his shoulders.

He twisted his head from side to side as she took a step back.  "Wow!  The pain is almost completely gone!  I wish that I had known about this talent of yours ages ago!  When I think of all the massages that I have missed out on!"  He paused, looked over at her and grinned, "Just wait until I tell Fin and Munch, they are going to love getting them!"

"If you EVER tell them about this I will deny it to my last breath and you will NEVER get one again!"  She threatened and Elliot held his hands up in surrender.

"No problem, Liv.  They will never hear about your magic fingers from me." 

They sat there for a few minutes in a comfortable silence just enjoying their coffee and each other's company.  Olivia broke the silence with the question that Elliot was dreading, "What are you going to do today?"

He took a deep breath and looked down at his coffee.  "Well, I need to call Kathy today and figure out what we are going to tell the kids and where we go from here."  He looked up and the pain that she saw in his blue eyes struck Olivia.  "As a matter of fact, I might as well bite the bullet now and call Kathy before I think of some reason not to."  He picked up his cell phone and looked back up at her, "Would it be okay if I called her from your room?"  

"Of course you can.  I will just straighten up everything out here."  She stood up with him and stopped him with a hand on his arm.  "I am here if you need anything."  He gave her a short nod and slowly walked back into her room and shut the door behind him.

Olivia started picking up the blankets that she'd covered Elliot with after she had finally gotten up last night and gone to her room.  She had been so tempted to stay with him on the couch but she didn't like the way that she had felt sitting there cuddled up next to him.  It had felt too good and that scared her.  She knew the last thing she needed to do was start to get 'feelings' for her partner that she had never experienced with one of her boyfriends, that feeling of contentment.  As she started to really think about what that all meant to her someone knocked at her door.

She looked over at the clock and wondered who would be knocking at 9:00am in the morning.  When she saw Maureen standing out there, she was in shock.  'How had she known to come here?' ran through her mind as she unlocked the door.  "Hi, Maureen."

Maureen stood there looking uncertain, "Hi, uh, is my Dad here?"

"Sure is, come on in."  She stepped back and held the door open for Maureen to enter.  "He is on the phone right now but will probably be out in a few minutes.  Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you."  She nervously looked around and decided that she wasn't going to wait for her dad and leveled a look on Olivia that she just knew spelled trouble.  "What is going on with my parents?"  

"Uh, well, uh…" Olivia wasn't sure how to really answer that question since she knew that Elliot and Kathy hadn't decided what to tell the kids yet.  "I'm not sure if I should be the one to answer that question."

"Oh, come on Olivia.  I know you know about whatever is going on."  Maureen was now pacing just like her Dad did when he got upset.  "I know that my dad tells you things and it's obvious that he stayed the night here last night," she pointedly looked over at the blankets that Olivia had been folding.  "Kathleen called me early this morning and said that Dad didn't come home last night and that Mom was crying and all upset.  Will you please tell me what is going on?"

Olivia looked down the hall to her room and sighed. "Maureen, I really don't know what to tell you and I think that you just need to calm down and wait for your father and then…" she was interrupted by the shouting that started coming from her room.

"NO Kathy!  You will not pin all this on me!  I didn't force you to go and fuck someone else and get pregnant!  You did that!"  Maureen's shocked wide gaze flew to Olivia's face and she could by the look in her eyes that this was the problem.  "Don't tell me that you did all this because I was never home!  That is bullshit and you know it!"  There was silence for a moment in the apartment and then they heard Elliot talking again to Kathy but it was much lower and the words weren't very clear.

"My mom is pregnant?"  Maureen asked Olivia with tears forming in her eyes.  "Please tell me what is going on, Olivia, Please!"  

At the pleading sound of her voice Olivia decided that Maureen was an adult and had already heard the worst of it, so what could it hurt to tell her?  She sat down with her on the couch and proceeded to tell her what she knew of the situation.  During the conversation she was surprised when Maureen reached over and held her hand.

"That's a lot to take in, but I thank you for telling me what is up.  I knew that Mom and Dad were having problems but I never imagined…" she let the last part of the sentence trail off as they heard the bedroom door open.  "Daddy!"  Maureen jumped up and wrapped her arms around him.  Elliot let out a grunt of pain and she immediately loosened her hold.  "Are you okay?"

He looked down at her, surprised that she was there and smiled.  "I'm just a little sore from my fender bender yesterday."  Olivia gave him a look at the phrase "fender bender" but he gave her a warning look not to elaborate any more than that to his daughter.  "What are you doing here, honey?"  

He led her back over to the couch and she waited until he was sitting before she started talking.  "Dad, I came over because Kathleen called me.  She was worried about you and about Mom and all the weird stuff going on at home.  And now I know why."  

Elliot whipped his head around to Olivia when she said that and she found herself on the other end of the famous Stabler interrogation look.  "What did you tell her?"  

Before she could defend herself, Maureen stepped in.  "She didn't tell me Dad," she looked him straight in the eye, "You did."  He just sat there looking back and forth between them trying to make sense out of what she just said.

Olivia took pity on him, "Elliot, she was here when you were yelling at Kathy on the phone and she heard you."

"Oh, baby, I never meant for you to find out like this."  Elliot took his baby girl, his first born, into his arms and kissed the top of her head.  "I am so sorry that you had to hear that.  Your mom and I were actually on the phone trying to figure out a way to tell you guys that we are ending the marriage."  He pulled back to look at her, "Are you okay?"

She shook her head and looked at him, "I think the more important question, Dad, is are YOU okay?"

Olivia felt very out of place and decided that she would give them some privacy.  "Hey guys, how about I run out and get some stuff to make for breakfast and give you guys some time to talk?"  As she stood up, Elliot sent her a grateful look and nodded.  "Okay, I'll be back in a few."  She grabbed her wallet and keys and headed out the door.

Elliot and Maureen just sat there for a few moments after Olivia left and looked at each other.  Maureen broke the silence, "Are you okay?  And tell me the truth Dad."

He looked her straight in the eye and tried to answer as truthfully as he could.  "I don't know if I can honestly say that I am okay right now but I can say that I am going to be.  How about that for an answer?"  

She looked at him closely, "Why do you say that you are going to be okay?  If I were you I would be totally flipping out!  Why aren't you yelling and screaming?"  She was thinking back to some of the many fights that her parents had and how bad his temper could get.  "Other than what I heard on the phone, I wouldn't even have figured out that you were upset.  I mean that you just look really tired, Dad."

He sighed and ran his hand over his face and decided to try to lighten the mood. "What is your major again?  It seems like you are trying to psychoanalyze me here."  The joke fell flat and he paused, "I really don't know why I am not going postal at the moment but maybe this is a good thing."

"Well, I am here Dad if you need me," she whispered as she enveloped him in a deep hug.  They pulled back and smiled at each other.  "So what did you decide to tell the others?"

Elliot sat up and started pacing around the room.  "Your mother doesn't want to tell them about the baby right now, only that we decided to separate and are probably going to divorce.  We were thinking that we wouldn't really give them the reason, just state that we just don't get along anymore."  He looked up after he heard her unbelieving snort.  "What?  You don't think that will work?"

She shook her head in disbelief and decided to fill him in, "Dad, they are not stupid.  Let me fill YOU in on a couple of things, okay?"

"Should I sit back down for this?"  At her nod he began to dread what he was about to hear from his daughter.  He looked over at her and suddenly realized that he was looking at a young woman, not his baby girl anymore.  That thought rocked him almost as much as her next words.

"Kathleen already knows that Mom was seeing someone else," at his shocked look she held up her hand, "let me finish what I have to say before you interrupt me, okay?"  At his nod she continued, "She called me early this morning and spilled everything to me.  She had come home one day last month and basically walked in on what was happening.  And before you ask, no, Mom didn't see her and she didn't bring it up to Mom.  So Kathleen figures that you found out and that is why you left, she has no idea though about the baby."

While Elliot sat there and listened his heart went out to his second daughter for the pain she must have felt finding out like she did.  It also explained why she had suddenly stopped giving him all the attitude and was constantly fighting with her mom over everything.  All he could think was how could he have missed all the signs, how could he not have known?  But he already knew the answer; he hadn't been there and hadn't wanted to see it.  Looking back, it was all spelled out clearly but he missed it all.

When he realized that she had stopped speaking he looked up. "Do the twins know?"

Maureen shook her head no. "I don't think that they do but they know that something is wrong."  She looked at him closely for a moment and then continued, "To be honest Dad, they won't be surprised when you tell them that you are leaving.  They have been expecting it for a long time now."

Her words startled him, "You all expected me to leave?"  The hurt he felt was indescribable that his children thought he would leave.  

When she saw the look on his face she quickly set the record straight.  "No Dad, none of us thought you would abandon us or anything.  We just all thought that you and Mom would divorce."  At Elliot's sigh of relief she continued.  "We think that you two are good people but all you do is fight and neither one of you has really been happy for a long time.  And your frequent nights on the couch just made it all the more clear."

"How did they know that I slept on the couch?"  He inquired with a quizzical look on his face.  "I always got up before they did and made sure all the blankets were up before the kids saw them."  

"Again, Dad, they may be kids but they are not stupid."  Maureen sat back and rolled her eyes.  "You have to realize that they aren't babies anymore."

"I know, I know."  He conceded.

"I think that you can tell the twins what you and Mom decided but I will warn you, there maybe some fall out when you tell Kathleen," she warned.  "You may want to tell her separately from them, or they may find out all the details too."

"Thanks kiddo.  What would I do without you?"  He asked when he got up to give her another hug.

"You will never have to find out Dad.  Do you realize that this is probably the most hugs I have gotten from you in one day before?  What are we on like the tenth hug or something?"  She teased trying to lighten up the mood.  It worked, he grinned down at her and gave her yet another squeeze.  "Why don't you go and take a shower Dad and I will sit out here and wait for Olivia," she suggested.

Going along with teasing mood she created, he inquired, "What? Are you trying to tell me that I stink or something?"

"Exactly, now go."  She pushed him towards the door to what she thought was the bathroom.  "I'll be here when you get out."

"Yes, ma'am," he headed for the showers and was surprised to see that he had a smile on his face. Then a thought hit him, "Maureen, how did you know that I was here?"

Maureen sighed and smiled quietly up at his questioning look, "Dad, knowing you would come here is a no-brainer.  Olivia's your best friend and has been for a long time. I'm glad you have her to talk with and we all like her, too.  She's always been there for you and us and that's a good thing that I don't see changing anytime soon."

Elliot just smiled at her and thought about what she said as he got into the shower.  If only Kathy had been there for him like Olivia, then maybe things would be different now. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 

Disclaimer:  I don't own the characters from Law & Order: SVU,  I am just using them for a little while.

A/N:  Thanks again to all who have reviewed and I hope you guys like it!  Thanks to kukrae (my wonderful and overworked beta!)!  

Olivia sat back and watched the girls as they were goofing off in the kitchen dancing to a song on the radio as they put the finishing touches on dinner.  "Are you sure that there is nothing that I can help with?"  Olivia inquired.

Kathleen looked up and laughed, "For the last time, Olivia, sit back, relax and watch us work our magic."  This was accompanied by a body wiggle that had Lizzie and Maureen falling over laughing.

"What was that?" Lizzie asked between giggles as she mimicked the move, which had Maureen holding her sides and laughing even harder.

"That was my attitude, baby."  Again accompanied by the wiggle before she joined in with the laughter.  

Olivia just sat there shaking her head and taking it all in, she couldn't believe how far they had come in the last month.  Telling the kids about the divorce didn't go as bad as Elliot had thought it would.  Just as Maureen had predicted, the twins had been expecting it and even though they were upset, they knew it was for the best.  Kathleen on the other hand had gone off on her mother, so Elliot had been really glad that they had taken Maureen's advice and told her separately from the other kids.  After quite a bit of yelling, they finally got Kathleen to promise not to tell the twins about what she had walked in on, but she also declared that she was NOT going to live under the same roof as her mother.  Luckily for them all, Olivia said it was cool for her to stay at her apartment until Elliot found a new place.  That arrangement had lasted for about a week and a half when the twins had come home from school early and walked in on their mother and Doug arguing about the new baby and when Kathy was going to tell the kids about them both, and they didn't take the news well at all!  They called Kathleen, who in turn had picked them up and all of them were waiting for Olivia and Elliot when they got home.  

That is when things got really hard.  The kids wanted nothing to do with Kathy and the younger three wanted to stay with Elliot.  He was having a really hard time finding an apartment and things were just getting too crowded at Olivia's.  About five days before Christmas Kathy actually came through with the perfect solution; she would move out with Doug, who had really been pushing her to move out of the home that she had shared with Elliot, and let Elliot move back into their home with the kids.  So, Elliot and the kids moved back into their family home just in time to celebrate Christmas.   It was a quiet holiday this year, but they invited Olivia and she spent the day with them and the kids saw their mother for a couple of hours in the evening, but they really hadn't forgiven their mom any so it was tense while she was there.  

Looking at the girls now she couldn't believe how upset they had all been just a few weeks ago.  It really was amazing how resilient kids could be.  If only that was the case with Elliot.  She turned in her chair and glanced over at Elliot and Dickie who were currently in the process of cleaning up their paint ball guns.  She chuckled to herself as she remembered back to Elliot's reaction to the joint gift that she had gotten for him and Dickie.  Just look at them now, bonding over a game that they both seem to enjoy.  They had been to play paintball every weekend that Elliot and Olivia had had off since Christmas and while they were playing, Olivia usually did something with the girls.  Right now he looked happy and content, and she had to admit that it definitely did seem like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, but she knew he wasn't happy.  He kept blaming himself for the downfall of his marriage.  The few times that she had been able to get him to open up about the divorce and Kathy's pregnancy, he kept saying that if he had only been home more, or if he hadn't shut her out, then his family would be whole right now.  It's almost as if he were more upset about failing at his marriage then actually losing Kathy.  

Elliot looked up and caught Olivia's eye and a smile broke out across his face.  "What are you looking at, Olivia?  See something you like?" he teased to get her to smile.

"Yep," Olivia replied, and then took a drink in response to Elliot's raised eyebrow at her answer.  "I was just thinking how great it must have felt for Dickie to beat the pants off you today at paintball."  The girls burst into laughter behind her and Elliot just rolled his eyes.

"How did you know that I beat Dad today Olivia?"  Dickie asked excitedly turning to look at her with a big smile.

"I'm a detective remember?  I'm taught to be observant, and I noticed that your Dad's overalls were covered in paint today and you only had a few spots and since I knew you were playing each other, I just put two and two together."  Olivia loved the proud look that came into Dickie's eyes at her statement.

He jumped up and ran up to give her a quick hug, "You are dead on, Olivia!  I kicked his butt!"  He turned and looked back at his dad, "I don't mean to rub it in too much Dad, but I did kick your butt today."  He turned and whispered to Olivia, "Thank you so much for this gift, I haven't gotten to spend this much one on one time with my dad in a long time."

Olivia had to fight to keep the tears back that were threatening to fall at his statement.  "You are so welcome, Dickie," she whispered back while returning his hug.  

"Hey Dickie!"  Lizzie called from behind them, "Could you come and help us out in the kitchen?"

"Oh, Lizzie, I can help," Olivia offered as she started to get off the stool and head into the kitchen.

"NO!"  The three girls cried at once, causing Elliot, Dickie and Olivia to all stop what they were doing and look at the girls sharply.

"Uh, uh, you can go with Dad and set the table," Kathleen covered quickly to allay any suspicions.

"Aw, but I don't want to help…" Dickie started but then quickly changed his tune when he caught the looks from his sisters.  "Oh, ok, no prob.  Uh, you guys go and set the table. Yeah."

Maureen saw that Elliot and Olivia were still looking at them, "Go on guys!  The table won't set itself."  And with that statement, she tossed her dishtowel at Olivia, "Get moving!"

"Ok, ok, we're going."  Olivia gave in, and walked over towards the dining room.  When she realized that Elliot wasn't following her she turned, "Elliot, are you coming?"

He looked down at their equipment and realized that it was all in order and he didn't have an excuse not to help.  "Okay, I'm coming," he said in a resigned tone. "I wonder if I should be scared or not," he confessed to Olivia as they walked to wards the dining room. "I used to say the same thing to the kids that Maureen just said."  At her inquisitive glance, he elaborated, "You know, about the table setting itself."

She just nodded.  "Do you get the feeling that they wanted us out of the room?"  Olivia inquired once they were out of earshot of the kids.

Elliot looked up in surprise, "You think that they wanted us out of the room?  Maybe I should go and see what they are cooking up."  He started to head back towards the kitchen.

"Elliot stop!"  Olivia shook her head and tried to keep from laughing, "It's probably nothing, so stop being such a cop."

"What did you just say to me?  Did you just tell me to stop being a cop?  Why would you say something like that?"  The outraged tone in his voice made it even harder for Olivia to bite back the laughter that was building.  "You don't know these children, they could be up to some serious trouble."

She couldn't hold it in anymore and the laughter came pouring out.  "Why are you laughing at me?"  he asked but her laughter was contagious and they were both soon laughing together while they set the table.

At the sound of their dad and Olivia laughing in the other room, the kids all gave each other knowing smiles.  "So what's next on the agenda?"  Lizzie asked her sisters, making sure that they could hear her but that her voice wouldn't carry out to the dining room.

Maureen stopped tossing the salad and turned and looked at her siblings.  "We need to get them alone together for a while."  

Dickie rolled his eyes, "They are alone together all day long. Duh…"  

Kathleen was quick to point out that they weren't alone at work, that they were surrounded by co-workers.  "We need to get them alone together, AWAY from work, stupid."

"Don't call me stupid!" Dickie exclaimed angrily. "Stupid."

"Guys! Stop it!"  Maureen immediately took control, "We need to stop fighting.  Remember, we want Dad to be happy and you guys do think that Olivia would make him happy, right?"  They all nodded that she was correct.  "So we need to make sure that they spend some time together."

"They already spend a lot of time together though," Dickie pointed out.  "She is over for dinner almost every other night and we see her every weekend even when they work."

Kathleen sighed as she looked at her little brother, "Alone, Dickie.  They need to spend some time with each other alone.  We want them to see that they make each other laugh and that they need each other."  Then she added in a acidic undertone, "It's bad enough that Mom has moved on with her _boyfriend_.  But it's wrong that Dad just sits here all by himself."

"He has us," Lizzie countered.

Maureen looked at her younger siblings and sighed, "We know that Lizzie.  But, don't you guys want Dad to be happy _with_ someone?"

"Of course," they replied in unison.

"And doesn't he seem happier when Olivia is around?"  At their quiet yet resounding 'yes' she continued.  "Then lets get them some time together, _alone_, okay?  We need to come up with some ideas."

They all started talking at once and they didn't notice Olivia coming into the room.  "Hey guys."  They all fell silent and Olivia couldn't help but notice the guilty looks on the twin's faces.  "Is there something I should know about guys?"

"Nope." 

"Na uh"

"No."

"Not at all."  Came all their replies, which made Olivia even more suspicious.

"Right."  She said sarcastically as she eyed each one of the children.   "Well, your Dad wants to know how much longer till dinner."  She couldn't shake the feeling that they were up to something but she knew that if they were as stubborn as their father then she wouldn't get anything more out of them.

Kathleen turned and checked the timer, "Tell him about 15 minutes, okay?"

"Thanks guys," Olivia gave them all a long look again, "Should I be worried?"  At their answering grins, she knew she should be very worried.  She headed back out to the dining room.

"Hey El, dinner will be ready in fifteen."  Olivia informed him as she came up behind him.  

"Cool, I am going to go hop in the shower and I will be back down in time for dinner."  He placed a quick peck on her cheek as he turned and headed up the stairs.  Olivia just stood there stunned.  She couldn't believe that Elliot had just done that.   Upstairs, it didn't hit Elliot that he had kissed her until he was stepping into the shower, and when he thought about it, he wasn't all that surprised, he just smiled.

The girls had seen the quick kiss too and they had all but done the touchdown dance!  They hurried back to the kitchen to fill Dickie in and they all had to laugh at the look on Olivia's face.  'Maybe this will be easier than we thought.'  Maureen thought to herself with a smile.

Olivia brought her hand up to her cheek and smiled.  Then a troubling thought crossed through her mind, 'Could Elliot be thinking of me as a replacement for Kathy? No!  He wouldn't do that!'  She just wiped the thought right out of her head.  'Elliot isn't looking for a replacement, he is just looking for a friend.'  With that thought in her head she went back into the kitchen to see if she could help with dinner.  

If only she knew what the kids had in store for them…


End file.
